Organic and Biodynamic Wine

I was in Sonoma county last month, one of my favorite places!  Not only did I attend the most beautiful wedding of a good friend, I also got to indulge in some amazing wine.  It got me thinking and wanting to know more about organic wines.  I found this article and thought I'd share it with you.

Mark Cuff, sommelier and owner of The Living Vine - a Canadian dealer of wines made with sustainable practices - took the time to explain the difference between and the principles of organic and biodynamic viticulture. So, whether it’s red or white, make sure your next glass of wine is also green!

What is organic and biodynamic viticulture?
In order to say it’s organic or biodynamic on the label, it has to be certified by an accredited certifier, like Ecocert (www.ecocert.com) or Demeter (www.demeter.net).
For organic wines, it’s a 3-year process of certification. Someone tests the winery’s soil and wine - it’s a check-box system - and every year, they certify that, yes, the winery grew organically this year, After the third year of growing organically, the winery can be certified organic. Organic wines are just wines made with the absence of pesticides, chemicals and chemical additives.
Biodynamic certification is a little tougher. All biodynamic wines must first be certified organic in order to be certified biodynamic. Biodynamic wines have a greater focus on soil health. The vineyard is a self-enclosed, sustainable eco system., moving toward zero input or output. The winery - or a group of wineries together- does its own composting, has its own cattle, etc. It also pays greater attention to the natural world and plans its harvest with the lunar calendar. A full moon directs more energy at the soil. Biodynamic viticulture is actually very close to how human beings grew food for thousands of years.

Do organic and biodynamic wines then have no sulphites?
No, you’ll find sulphites in both organic and biodynamic wines. Sulphites naturally occur in the fermentation process, so it’s almost impossible to create a completely sulpher-free wine. Organic wines tend to be lower in sulpher, though.

Is there a difference in flavour?
Personally, I think they taste better and cleaner, but generally, they taste the same. Consumers aren’t going to buy an organic wine just because it’s organic. It has to be a good product, too.

How do the prices compare?
Theoretically, if you grow organically or biodynamically, the cost to produce the wine should go down over time. I find a lot of people who have been doing this for a long time have prices that are comparable to regular wines. It’s such a competitive market.

Is Canada producing organic and biodynamic wines?
In Ontario, a lot of great companies are moving towards biodynamic production. For example: Southbrook Vineyards, certified organic and biodynamic, released 3 new VQA biodynamic wines on Earth Day this year. Frogpond Farm was the first certified-organic wine producer in Ontario. They make great value organic wines.

What should shoppers look for?
Most LCBO stores have an organic section. Or, look for a note on the tag - most of the time there’s a note or mention on the label. The consultants should also know.

Wines Shown (clockwise from top left): Southbrook Vineyards, 2009 Cabernet Rose VQA, $19; Southbrook Vineyards, 2008 Triomphe Cabernet Sauvignon, VQA $24; Southbrook Vineyards 2009, “Fresh” White VQA $17; Fropond Farm, 2007 Organic Chardonnay $13, Frogpond Farm, 2007 Organic Riesling Icewine, VQA, $32.

Keeping Cool Without Air Conditioning

 

With much of Canada and the US experiencing a summer heat wave, everyone's thinking about cooling off.  I'm in Los Angeles visiting my best friend and it reached 102 degrees today!  I'm going to need a bath full of ice cubes to cool me off.  While the modern office, and 84% of U.S. homes use air conditioners, we can all save money by using them less; after all, the typical U.S. home spends 17% of its annual energy bill on cooling – about $375.  I don’t think those numbers are as high in Vancouver as most homes don’t have air conditioners, they resort to cold showers and iced coffees to cool them off!
We can all save energy, too, which on the hottest summer days can have an immediate payoff: avoiding an electricity blackout caused by an overloaded power grid.
Here are the easiest, cheapest tips you can do right now to cool off – and then recommend some home improvements that can help keep your home cooler in the years to come, and tack on some tips for those of us with air conditioners we'd like to pay less to run or replace. And remember – even if you have and use an air conditioner, these tips can help you reduce your need for it, saving both energy and money.

1. Close your windows
It may seem counter intuitive, but opening the windows will often make your home warmer, not cooler. Open your windows at night if the air outside is cooler than inside, and close them – along with blinds and shades – before the sun hits your house in the morning. This will allow cool night air to circulate, and prevent a good deal of the sun's heat from reaching indoors. You may also put houseplants – particularly larger potted trees – in front of sunny windows to absorb some of the sun's energy.


2. Use fans strategically

Here are three ways fans can help:
Ceiling fans can create a pleasant breeze to cool a room significantly. Be sure that you have the fan running in the right direction since ceiling fans can also be used in winter to create an updraft: in the summer, you should feel the breeze blowing down. And remember, ceiling fans cool people, not rooms, so turn it off when you leave the room. If you're buying new ceiling fans, make sure you buy Energy Star ceiling fans that use 50% less energy than comparable models – a choice that will pay off in the long run, as you can appreciate the longer you keep your fan running.
Stand-alone fans placed directly in front of you, it's no surprise, help keep you cool. Add in a spritz bottle and you can dramatically change your temperature; as the water evaporates off your skin, your body sheds heat.
A DIY wind tunnel is the third option; if there's a cool breeze, particularly at night, set one fan facing in on the side of your home facing the wind, and another facing out on the opposite end of the house. You'll maximize the cooling power of a natural breeze.

3. Cook (or don't) a cool meal

Just as drinking a nice cold cocktail cools your body, eating cold food helps keep your internal temperature lower on a hot day. One great option: Watermelon and Cherry Salad with Fresh Mint Syrup. If you do cook, use the grill or the microwave, or else you'll heat up your kitchen from using the oven and stove.

4. Shut off the lights

While modern lightning, like compact fluorescents and LEDs, are more efficient, incandescent light bulbs can produce as much heat as they do light. Energy Star-rated light bulbs produce 75% less heat, so consider that when replacing bulbs. It's always a good idea to shut off lights to save energy, it makes a big difference on hot sunny summer days. The same goes for many electronics, so consider unplugging any device that isn't needed (even in standby mode, many electronics remain hot).

5. Go for a swim or take a cold shower
It may sound obvious, but it's worth saying: If you're hot, cool it off by immersing yourself in cold water. The immediate refreshment works immediately by cooling your core temperature. And unless there's 100% humidity, the evaporation of water off your skin will further cool you. For a short cut, use water and ice cubes to keep your wrists cool; since your blood vessels are so close the skin there, you'll feel cooler by applying cold directly to your blood.

6. Plant a tree (or two or three) strategically

Your house gets hot because the sun beats down on it relentless on hot summer days. Let nature help reduce your energy bills by planting deciduous trees on the east and west sides of your home; in the summer, their broad leaves will shade your house, while in the winter, bare branches won't stop the sun's warmth from reaching your walls. Also consider planting trees or shrubs to shade high-heat areas – air conditioning units that emit heat, for instance, and driveways and walkways that absorb it.

7. Install attic insulation

While attic fans may not help significantly to cool your home, attic insulation can help a lot. Insulation keeps cooler air in your home from escaping through the ceiling. If you have central air, also seal ducts – especially at vents and registers, where you could be losing up to 20% of you cooled air.

8. Install awnings
Just as window shades and shrubbery work to shield your home from the sun's rays, awnings can cut down on the heat your house absorbs. This is an investment to make if you like the look.


5 Ways to Save Money and Energy on Air Conditioning
So you already have an air conditioner, or you're planning to buy one... Save money and energy with the previous eight tips (after all, they'll help you use your AC less) plus these five maintenance and buying tips:


1. Adjust the thermostat

If you have central air controlled by a thermostat, program it to save energy by increasing the heat significantly during the day when the house is empty, and give up a couple degrees at night, too – especially on the hottest days. You may be surprised to find that the contrast between outdoor and indoor temperatures matters as much as the absolute temperature inside your home.

2. Clean the air filter

Whether you have central air or a room air conditioner, a dirty filter will reduce its efficiency, making it use more energy and cost more money to do the same job. Check your HVAC system's air filter monthly and expect to change the filter every three months.

3. Get an annual checkup
If you have central air, consider an annual checkup – once should cover both the heating and the cooling season. A professional should be able to diagnose any inefficiencies before you've wasted money on monthly heating and cooling bills.

4. Think small
Cooling one room with a window air conditioning unit requires much less energy (and investment) than a central air system. Ask yourself how you'll use your new air conditioner, and choose the smallest option that works.

5. Buy Energy Star

Whether you're buying a central air conditioner or a room unit, efficiency matters. An Energy Star central air system will use about 14% less energy than minimum government standards, and a room air conditioner will save at least 10%. Use the Energy Star Website before making a purchase, because while the vast majority of the 1,000-plus qualifying room units use 90% of the energy of a standard model, some are clearly a better value, using as little as 50%. These nine models use 75% of a typical unit, or less:

Turbo Air - TAS-09EH
Turbo Air - TAS-12EH
Turbo Air - TAS-18EH
Unionaire - RAC20A6HR
Friedrich - YS09L10
Unionaire - RAC24A6HR
Friedrich - YS10M10
Unionaire - RAC20A6CR
Unionaire - RAC20A6ER

A Healthy Pillow

If you're committed to living an organic lifestyle, you eat organic foods and have probably replaced toxic household cleaners with products that are safer for your health. Time now to move on and create a healthier environment in the one room where you spend one-third of your life: your bedroom.

Look no further than the pillow you place under your head each night. If it's made with synthetic materials you could be sleeping with toluene, diisocyanate, formaldehyde, PBDEs and petroleum derivatives. Toss that pillow into the recycling bin and get a better night's sleep on something that is all natural or organic from the inside out.

Before the 1950s and the advent of poly-fiberfill people slept on pillows made from materials found in nature, heavenly sleep conducive fibers and fills like goose down, cotton, natural latex, wool. Rest your head on any of these natural fibers and you'll notice an immediate difference in your quality of sleep each night.

Some fibers like wool enhance deep REM sleep by wicking moisture away from your head, keeping you cooler so you toss and turn less often. A latex contour pillow or buckwheat hull pillow will support your neck and shoulders. Matching your sleep preference to the right fiber and pillow configuration is like finding the right toothbrush, it's very personal.It can be hard to know where to turn for the best pillow: we've heard a lot about buckwheat and organic wool pillows, but reviews can be scewed depending on what type of sleeper the reviewer is (stomach, back, side) and how firm they like their pillow. Everyone's different. So how to choose! First, you need to know the options and what they're best for:

1. Latex: made of 100% latex, which is naturally hypoallergenic and resists dust mites. Available in standard, queen and king sizes.

• Best For: Side and stomach sleepers. Side sleepers should stick to the contoured shape, as the pillow's firmness helps support the neck and keep the spine aligned. Stomach sleepers should go for the soap shape, which tends to be softer and flatter.
• Care: Hand-wash the latex in warm water with mild soap, blot with a towel, and air dry. Case can be machine-washed.
• Average price: $69-$89

2. Buckwheat: buckwheat pillows are filled with buckwheat hulls and, if you're used to fluffy pillows, may take a bit of time to get used to. Buckwheat is also great for air circulation and keeping your head cool, especially in warmer weather. Look for ones with an organic wool outer layer to muffle the 'crunchy' sound.

• Best For: All types. A zipper lets you fill or remove the hulls to your desired thickness. You could even make your won.
• Care: Rinse the hulls in cool water, drain, and air dry. Machine wash the case.
• Average price: $75

3. Kapok: is a silky fiber harvested from ceiba trees (a tropical tree). After the ripe pods of the tree are harvested, the seeds are removed and the fluffy fiber is then thoroughly cleaned and dried. It is 8 times lighter than cotton and feels very much like down (without the accompanying allergies).

• Best For: Back sleepers. This material is very fluffy and offers minimal resistance.
• Care: Machine wash gentle cycle in warm water. Cool dry with tennis balls for fluffing.
• Average price: $50

4. Organic Wool: A pure wool pillow is great for regulating temperature and moisture as the wool fibers naturally wick moisture away from your face so you remain at an even temp all night. Wool is also naturally mold, mildew, and fire-resistant.

• Best For: Side sleepers, due to the firmness of the wool, although you can find differing degrees of firmness.
• Care: Spot clean with water and vinegar. Air outside in the sun or fluff in a dryer with tennis balls to freshen.
• Average price: $70

5. Organic Cotton: organic cotton pillows are made without perfumes, formaldehyde, or dyes, are very soft and will compress over time.

• Best For: Stomach sleepers, because you can squish it.
• Care: Cotton will shrink if you wash it, so wash in cool water on a gentle cycle, or spot clean with water and vinegar.
• Average price: $45

6. Millet: Similar in performance to a buckwheat pillow, the hulls from millet are smaller and circular, making for a smoother and softer pillow (also less noisy) than a buckwheat pillow.

• Best For: Side or stomach sleepers
• Care: Rinse hulls in cool water, drain, and air dry. Machine wash case.
• Average price: $70

Sweet dreams!

Car Wash or DIY

Which is greener, a commercial car wash or DIY? The answer: Go with the pros.

Commercial car washes require an average of about 45 gallons of water per car, whereas home washers typically use between 80 and 140 gallons, according to the trade group International Carwash Association. That's a big difference! Federal law requires commercial car washes to drain their wastewater into sewers, where it normally receives some treatment, versus simply running across the land.

If you are going to clean your own vehicle, check out the waterless wash products available now from many manufacturers, such as Eco Touch. Many are nontoxic, biodegradable and petrochemical-free. Just spray on, wipe and buff gently with a clean towel, and voilà. Clean car.

Earth Day 2010

Forty years after the first Earth Day, the world is in greater peril than ever. While climate change is the greatest challenge of our time, it also presents the greatest opportunity – an unprecedented opportunity to build a healthy, prosperous, clean energy economy now and for the future.

Earth Day 2010 can be a turning point to advance climate policy, energy efficiency, renewable energy and green jobs. Earth Day Network is galvanizing millions who make personal commitments to sustainability. Earth Day 2010 is a pivotal opportunity for individuals, corporations and governments to join together and create a global green economy. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries that are taking action for Earth Day.

What have you done to make your life greener? Every day should be Earth Day.

Second Garbage Patch Confirmed

Remember the blog I wrote about plastic and the garbage patch (the toilet bowl that never flushes!)? Sadly to say there has been another one discovered.

Mike Melia from the Associated Press writes:

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Researchers are warning of a new blight on the ocean: a swirl of confetti-like plastic debris stretching over thousands of square miles (kilometres) in a remote expanse of the Atlantic Ocean.

The floating garbage - hard to spot from the surface and spun together by a vortex of currents - was documented by two groups of scientists who trawled the sea between scenic Bermuda and Portugal's mid-Atlantic Azores islands.

The studies describe a soup of micro-particles similar to the so-called Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a phenomenon discovered a decade ago between Hawaii and California that researchers say is likely to exist in other places around the globe.

"We found the great Atlantic garbage patch," said Anna Cummins, who collected plastic samples on a sailing voyage in February.

The debris is harmful for fish, sea mammals - and at the top of the food chain, potentially humans - even though much of the plastic has broken into such tiny pieces they are nearly invisible.

Since there is no realistic way of cleaning the oceans, advocates say the key is to keep more plastic out by raising awareness and, wherever possible, challenging a throwaway culture that uses non-biodegradable materials for disposable products.

"Our job now is to let people know that plastic ocean pollution is a global problem - it unfortunately is not confined to a single patch," Cummins said.

The research teams presented their findings in February at the 2010 Oceans Sciences Meeting in Portland, Oregon. While scientists have reported finding plastic in parts of the Atlantic since the 1970s, the researchers say they have taken important steps toward mapping the extent of the pollution.

Cummins and her husband, Marcus Eriksen, of Santa Monica, California, sailed across the Atlantic for their research project. They plan similar studies in the South Atlantic in November and the South Pacific next spring.

On the voyage from Bermuda to the Azores, they crossed the Sargasso Sea, an area bounded by ocean currents including the Gulf Stream. They took samples every 100 miles (160 kilometres) with one interruption caused by a major storm. Each time they pulled up the trawl, it was full of plastic.

A separate study by undergraduates with the Woods Hole, Massachusetts-based Sea Education Association collected more than 6,000 samples on trips between Canada and the Caribbean over two decades. The lead investigator, Kara Lavendar Law, said they found the highest concentrations of plastics between 22 and 38 degrees north latitude, an offshore patch equivalent to the area between roughly Cuba and Washington, D.C.

Long trails of seaweed, mixed with bottles, crates and other flotsam, drift in the still waters of the area, known as the North Atlantic Subtropical Convergence Zone. Cummins' team even netted a Trigger fish trapped alive inside a plastic bucket.

But the most nettlesome trash is nearly invisible: countless specks of plastic, often smaller than pencil erasers, suspended near the surface of the deep blue Atlantic.

"It's shocking to see it firsthand," Cummins said. "Nothing compares to being out there. We've managed to leave our footprint really everywhere."

Still more data are needed to assess the dimensions of the North Atlantic patch.

Charles Moore, an ocean researcher credited with discovering the Pacific garbage patch in 1997, said the Atlantic undoubtedly has comparable amounts of plastic. The east coast of the United States has more people and more rivers to funnel garbage into the sea. But since the Atlantic is stormier, debris there likely is more diffuse, he said.

Whatever the difference between the two regions, plastics are devastating the environment across the world, said Moore, whose Algalita Marine Research Foundation based in Long Beach, California, was among the sponsors for Cummins and Eriksen.

"Humanity's plastic footprint is probably more dangerous than its carbon footprint," he said.

Plastics have entangled birds and turned up in the bellies of fish: A paper cited by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says as many as 100,000 marine mammals could die trash-related deaths each year.

The plastic bits, which can be impossible for fish to distinguish from plankton, are dangerous in part because they sponge up potentially harmful chemicals that are also circulating in the ocean, said Jacqueline Savitz, a marine scientist at Oceana, an ocean conservation group based in Washington.

As much as 80 per cent of marine debris comes from land, according to the United Nations Environmental Program.

The U.S. government is concerned the pollution could hurt its vital interests.

"That plastic has the potential to impact our resources and impact our economy," said Lisa DiPinto, acting director of NOAA's marine debris program. "It's great to raise awareness so the public can see the plastics we use can eventually land in the ocean."

DiPinto said the federal agency is co-sponsoring a new voyage this summer by the Sea Education Association to measure plastic pollution southeast of Bermuda. NOAA is also involved in research on the Pacific patch.

"Unfortunately, the kinds of things we use plastic for are the kinds of things we don't dispose of carefully," Savitz said. "We've got to use less of it, and if we're going to use it, we have to make sure we dispose of it well."

A Fresh Start-Day 5

Baking soda

Baking soda is a staple in many refrigerators because it helps absorb odors, but it can also dissolve dirt and grease in water. Like vinegar, baking soda has a wide variety of uses.

All-Purpose
To remove scuff marks from the floor, sprinkle with baking soda and wipe clean with a warm, damp cloth. You can also use this multipurpose cleaner to remove odors from carpet. Simply sprinkle baking soda on the floor, wait 10 minutes, and vacuum.

Baking soda’s mild coarseness is similar to common abrasive cleaners. When mixed with water, baking soda turns into a scouring paste you can use to remove substances from tubs, sinks, countertops and dishes. Mix 1 part water with 3 parts baking soda to scrub away unwanted stains and messes.

Kitchen
Use baking soda anywhere you need deodorizing action—especially in the refrigerator or cupboards. You can also control garbage-can odors by sprinkling baking soda in the bottom of the can and into each new garbage bag.

Sprinkle baking soda on pots, pans and dishes with burnt or caked-on food, add water and soak for a few hours to loosen the food. Keep a box of baking soda close to your stove; it puts out grease fires.

Laundry
Adding 1/2 cup baking soda to your laundry will help remove dirt and grease.

A Fresh Start-Day 4

Tea Tree Oil
Australian tea tree oil is well-known for its medicinal purposes, but the antibacterial and antifungal properties of this ancient remedy can also be useful in the household.

All-Purpose
In a reusable spray bottle, mix 15 drops of tea tree oil with 1 quart warm water for a multipurpose cleaner. It's great for cleaning your yoga mat! For a more powerful antiseptic spray for areas that need specific attention-such as toilets-use 2 teaspoons of tea tree oil to 2 cups of water. The more potent mixture also works well on mold; just spray on the moldy area and don’t rinse. Although discoloration might not disappear, the mold will be killed.

Laundry

To disinfect heavily soiled laundry such as cloth diapers, add 1 teaspoon of tea tree oil to each load of laundry. This will help prevent bacterial and fungal infections.

A Fresh Start-Day 2

SALT

Good old-fashioned table salt can be used as an abrasive cleaner.

All-Purpose
Abrasive coarse salt can help remove stains, caked on food or mildew on stovetops and in bathtubs, or anywhere scratching is not a concern. Mix baking soda with salt to whiten while scrubbing away grime.

Kitchen
Salt works well on pots and pans with caked-on food. Soak pots and pans with 3 tablespoons of salt in a couple inches of water. The mess should come off with ease. Scrubbing cast iron pans with salt cleans the pan without removing the seasoned finish.

A Fresh Start

Spring is upon us and you know what that means. Spring cleaning! Some of us get excited for this time of year, its a time to get down and dirty! Using harsh chemicals can contaminate your home with toxins, defeating the purpose of spring cleaning. Common household cleaners expose you to chemicals and have adverse effects on your family's health. Why clean your home with poison? Especially when there are so many natural alternative ways to clean and disinfect your home. Over the next 5 days I am going to share with you 5 common kitchen ingredients to help you with your spring cleaning in a natural way.

Lemons
Lemons are natural disinfectants because of their antibacterial properties. For many, the refreshing citrus smell exemplifies cleanliness.

Kitchen

Cut a lemon in half and use it to clean wooden chopping boards or to help remove stains from countertops. Let lemon juice sit for a while, then wipe clean. Avoid marble and granite surfaces because the acid can be corrosive. (try club soda instead)
Dip a cut lemon in coarse salt and scrub copper-bottomed pots and pans. Use the same preparation to help dissolve soap and hard water stains in sinks. Throw the used lemon into your compost pile for Eco-friendly waste disposal.
One of my personal favorites is placing a lemon into your garbage disposal and turning it on for a quick, easy way to clean this hard to reach area. It kills bacteria and leaves a nice fresh scent.

Laundry

Lemons are natural bleaching agents that can help brighten white linens and clothing. Add 1/2 cup of lemon juice to the rinse cycle to brighten whites and give them a fresh citrus smell.

How clean is the air you breath?

How you would rate your indoor air quality? What affects your indoor air quality? How can you improve it? The most widely quoted statistic about air quality is this: The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than the air outdoors!

While many sources of indoor air are fairly obvious and well-known -- second-hand smoke (lets hope none of you smoke indoors!), carbon monoxide and radon, to name the most prominent, and deadly -- there are more insidious, secret sources of pollution that any concerned homeowner or partner should consider. I have listed some of the most surprising.

Air Purifiers

Ok, who has one? I know I do. Like most people I was concerned about the quality of the air in my home and spend hundreds of dollars on an airpurifier, believing that it will, kill mold and bacteria.

But wait, theres more! That comes in the form of a highly touted mega-dose of ozone. Companies selling these air purifiers claim thats a good thing. Health officials know better. Ozone is the chief component of smog. If can scar lung tissue, trigger asthma attacks, cause coughing fits and lead to permanent damage that could shorten your life. That’s why the EPA has been cracking down on the sources of ozone outdoors. In other words, high levels of ozone is nothing that you want indoors.

If you have or are planning on getting an air purifier be sure to look for models that use high-efficiency pleated filters, known as HEPA filters, or electrostatic precipitators that do not emit high amounts of ozone.

Paint

So we all know about VOC’s and low VOC paint. Lead paint is a fairly well-known danger, U.S. banned it about 30 years ago. New paints release volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) that may have a range of subtle health effects if breathed even in low doses over a long period of time. Ventilation is one key to reduce the harm from off-gassing paints, but the better choice is selecting a low-VOC or non-VOC paint .

Cleaning products

Spray bottles, sponges and the cleaners that break up dirt are supposed to leave your home cleaner, but many can also introduce unhealthy compounds into the air.

Why buy off-the-shelf cleaners that contain powerful and often toxic solvents, and other nasty chemicals when you can make simple recipes with vinegar, baking soda and the like will do just as good a job without any of the risks.

Cabinets and Furniture

Lots of furniture, cabinets, and shelving are made with pressed wood is likely stuck together with glue that contains formaldehyde. As with rugs, the formaldehyde in the glue will “off-gas” over time, releasing small amounts into the air in your home.

To avoid formaldehyde, avoid pressed wood products unless you know they are free from formaldehyde.

The Kitchen Stove

We all ventilate our bathroom so mildew and mold will not sprout. Cooking on the stove can introduce unsafe levels of nitrogen dioxide into the air. Make sure to properly ventilate your stove while cooking.

Houseplants are a very effective way in keeping your household air clean and pure.

How to shrink your plastic footprint

Like many of you I have my reusable non-plastic bags that I intend on using every time I go to the grocery store, yet somehow they are never in my car when I need them! I have put an end to that by making a point to return the bags to my car after unloading the groceries. That started a brand new problem. I found myself standing at the cashier and watching those ahead of me using plastic bags and realized I had forgotten mine in the car. Needless to say I’d run out and grab them just in time. I have noticed that some grocery stores are even giving you a savings if you bring in your own bags or giving free reusable bags for every $25 you spend. I went home with 6 bags one day! So if you are like many people who have a large collection of plastic bags under their sink being reused as garbage bags only to end up in the trash....have you ever thought of what happens to them after?

Producing plastic bags has a significant impact on the environment. They are made of polyethylene, a product of oil which is typically obtained from Saudi Arabia, Singapore or Japan. An estimated 100 billion plastic bags are used every year in the US and an additional 17 billion in the UK which require about 102 billion barrels of oil to produce. You might be thinking, that’s fine, I recycle! Unfortunately it is actually not as environmentally friendly as it appears to be. That triangle of arrows that appears on products doesn’t always mean endless reuse: it identifies which type of plastic the item is made from. Of the seven different plastics in common use, only two of them- PET (labelled with #1 inside the triangle and used in soda bottles) and HDPE (labelled with #2 inside the triangle and used in milk jugs) have much of an aftermarket. It all brings me back to that producing so much plastic is absurd.

While traveling to Thailand, my husband and I witnessed the unimaginable! Small boats packed high with garbage bags traveling into the middle of the ocean, to do what I asked? We were told by any locals that they would dispose of the trash from the resorts into the sea! This is crazy I thought. How could they be polluting this gorgeous ocean they were so lucky to have. It made me realize that these people weren’t educated on the harm they were doing to the oceans and beaches of their home. We talked to local scuba diving schools who told us they would take their staff and voluntarily clean the ocean floor. They would spend days removing garbage so it wouldn’t negatively affect the sea life. How much I wanted to stay until it was all removed but they said it is astounding how much garbage they find.

Some of the most obvious victims are the dead seabirds that have been washing ashore in startling numbers, their bodies packed with plastic: things like bottle caps, cigarette lighters, tampon applicators, and colored scraps that, to a foreign bird, resemble baitfish. Most plastic is not biodegradable. Unless removed, they will remain in the sea for hundreds of years, breaking up into ever-smaller particles. British Scientists discovered that microscopic pieces of plastic can be found everywhere in the oceans, even inside plankton, the keystone of the marine food chain. It is not only birds that are affected by our waste, all sea creatures are threatened by floating plastic, from whales down to zooplankton. A famous picture of a sea turtle with a plastic band strangling its shell into an hourglass shape; a humpback towing plastic nets that cut into its flesh and make it impossible for the animal to hunt. More than a million seabirds, 100,000 marine mammals, and countless fish die in the North Pacific each year, either from mistakenly eating this junk or from being ensnared in it and drowning.

I have a beautiful river running through my backyard where my husband and I have picked out yards of plastic making its way down to the ocean. That water bottle and polystyrene cup you saw floating in the creek, if it doesn’t get picked up, it will be washed out to sea. Once there it will go to the Garbage Patch, one of five such high-pressure zones in the oceans, the South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. Together these areas cover 40 percent of the sea, a quarter of the earth’s surface! So 25 percent of our planet is a toilet that never flushes!

Sure plastic has its benefits, no one would deny that. It has given us bulletproof vests, credit cards, slinky spandex pants (what would the 80’s be without them!), breakthroughs in medicine, and computer science. How many of you own a Kleancanteen or some sort of reusable canteen? I think I have 4 and yet it took me some time to get used to the idea of filling it with water instead of buying a case of bottled water. Or how about filtering your tap water or using a Brita? Here are some of the problems associated with plastic bottles:

We will buy an estimated 25 billion single-serving, plastic water bottles this year. 8 out of 10 (22 billion) will end up in a landfill.
(Container »»Recycling Institute)

Bottled water is a waste of money. Consumers spend an estimated $7 billion on bottled water in the US each year.

Worldwide 2.7 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water each year.
(One world)

1.5 million barrels of oil is used annually to produce plastic water bottles for America alone, enough to fuel some 100,000 US cars for a year
(Earth Policy Institute)

Imagine a water bottle filled a quarter of the way up with oil. That`s about how much oil was needed to produce the bottle.
(National Geographic)

The bottled water you purchase is often in #1 PET or PETE bottles (polyethylene terephthalate), which may leach DEHA, a known carcinogen, if used more than once (mothering.com)

Along with plastic bags, plastic bottles are one of the most prevalent sources of pollution found on our beaches.

Never burn plastic-you are producing some of the most toxic gases known!

Maybe now you will make more effort to keep your bags in the car, buy a Brita or put a filter on your tap. Next time you are at the store and the cashier puts your one or two items into a bag say “NO” to the plastic bag. I find it absurd when I see people accepting the bag for their one item! Think twice before taking that bag, there has been numerous times when I have said “No thanks, I don’t need a bag”, I seldom wonder why they even put it in the bag to begin with, do we really need it? I hope I taught you all a little something about the harm that plastic causes to not only humans but to helpless animals and our planet. Momma taught us better, I know we can do better than this!