The Green Buck Stops Here

I recently read a particularly nasty question in a blog the other day. The question was, “Is it Al Gore stupid or Michael Moore stupid to believe in global warming?” Although the question might be considered distasteful, it is not at all surprising if you have been following the political debates over the environmental movement. It’s become very common for arguments to be riddled with name calling and belittling with no real substance. These attacks fly around the airwaves and on the internet in emails and blogs.

The political arena has turned this very real issue into nothing more than a battle cry and the term “global warming” puts many people into a tailspin. What’s really at stake is the health of our planet and our standard of living. It’s time we stop worrying about the political bickering, stop wasting our efforts and hard earned money and begin dealing with the real facts.

Neigh Sayers argue that what’s happening to our planet is just the natural cycle of climate change. What they don’t mention is that these natural cycles normally take place over thousands of years. Sudden changes usually only happen after a huge natural disaster such as the eruption of Krakatoa. The increased changes we’ve seen since the industrial revolution began have been man-made. The changes have been much more dramatic in the last few decades with the increase of industry, number of cars on the road and the population explosion.

I’m a Believer because I have seen the changing climate in my own home town where I’ve lived off and on for most of my life. There are some places where the air and water are cleaner but that’s because man-made fixes have cleaned up man-made messes. In my city this is not so even though it is finally attempting to go more green. There are fewer snowfalls, more droughts, it gets warmer earlier in the year and our hot season starts in June instead of late July or August. Our air quality used to be good but on some days I can see the haze just by looking at the houses across the street. I don’t need a weather alert to tell me when the ground ozone is at a dangerous level. I just have to walk outside of my house and feel the throbbing headache that won’t go away until the ozone clears.

Political arguments have delayed our efforts to clean up our planet and we are pumping money into the pockets of the politicians and the oil and coal industries who are causing the delays. The answer is very simple. We have to stop waiting for the politicians to fix things for us and take personal responsibility. Going green is the practical thing to do and it’s a less stressful and more pleasant way to live. As individuals we might not be able to clean up the whole world but we do have the individual power not to add to the problem.

It doesn’t matter if you believe in global warming or not. We all want to breathe clean air, to drink fresh water and enjoy good health. We must clean up after ourselves and stop our over consumption of products made by industries that dump toxins into our atmosphere and water supplies. We can increase our national security and create more jobs by not using so much oil and oil based products and switch to clean energy wherever possible. We can become healthier by not loading our bodies down with so many chemicals. We must stop dumping our messes into our neighbors’ yards.

No matter what our political ideology is, no matter if we believe Earth needs saving or not, we must see that political attacks and our attacks against each other get us nowhere. The fact is, going green saves money and that’s something most of need and want. We must stop waiting on the politicians and make the small, inexpensive and free changes in our lives that can make a big positive impact on our environment and our pocketbooks.

© 2008 - Mimi Gibson maintains www.thegreenbuckstopshere.com
This content is provided by Mimi Gibson. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included

Microsoft’s Edison Debuts, Joining Tools from Google, the EPA and Snap.com

Lowering energy use on your home and business computers not only lowers greenhouse gas emissions, it also LOWERS YOUR UTILITY BILLS saving your hard earned money. Here’s the story from The Daily Green that will tell you all about it.

The Daily Green “4 Free Software Tools to Save Energy on Home Computing”
http://www.thedailygreen.com/green-homes/eco-friendly/pc-energy-efficiency-47080703?src=nl&mag=tdg&list=dgr&kw=ist

Here are the direct links to the free downloads.

Edison from Verdium or Microsoft’s environment page.
http://verdiem.com/
http://www.microsoft.com/environment/campaign_edison.aspx

Energy Star’s EZ-WIZARD
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=power_mgt.pr_power_mgt_ez_wiz

Snap.com’s CO2 Saver
http://co2saver.snap.com/

Google’s Energy Saving Gadget
http://desktop.google.com/plugins/i/energysaver.html

Remember, no matter what the political debate says, being kind to the Earth saves you money.

I have a dog door that leads to my backyard so my dogs and cats have always been good about going outside to do their business, with one exception. My little black dog, Sunny, was afraid to go outside in the rain. If it were raining at night she would pee and poo on a particular spot on my living room carpet. I spent a fortune trying to get rid of the smell with all the “eliminates pet odors” products and repellents I could find, including the kind that has the enzymes that should have neutralized it. She even continued using the same spot after I replaced the carpet and pad. The smell was still in the sub-floor boards.

Dogs have a very strong sense of smell and once the odor is there, it’s an invitation for them to go over and over again in the same spot. I had carpet cleaner that would get rid of the smell for human noses, but Sunny still knew. I had given up thinking the problem would never end. I had the choice of a clean carpet or getting rid of Sunny. I chose, of course, to keep Sunny. I finally learned a couple of things that worked.

First, I remembered what my mom always said but being the rebellious one in the family I, of course, didn’t listen. She said to always use white distilled vinegar on pet stains. Still being the rebel, I added baking soda. I took one part vinegar and one part baking soda. I scrubbed it in to the entire area of the offended carpet and let it dry over night. The next day I vacuumed it up. She hasn’t used the spot since. Vinegar is a natural antibiotic and baking soda is great for soaking up odors.

Second, I had to address the problem of Sunny being so afraid of rain which caused the wet carpet problem in the first place. When we had a thunderstorm Sunny would start shaking and jump in my lap. I would hold her close and comfort her. I learned that what I was saying in dog language was that something scary was going on but I would protect her. I was reinforcing her fears. Instead of trying to change her ways, I changed my ways. During a thunderstorm Sunny would jump in my lap and instead of showing her I was protecting her from danger, I would treat the storm as a non-issue. Before long she took my cue and was no longer afraid of the rain. I did that during one thunderstorm then during the next thunderstorm Sunny came running in totally soaked, excited and very proud of herself as if saying, “Look, Mom! I went outside to pee in the rain and I’m still alive!” Now she sometimes calmer during a storm than I am. She’s probably telling me, “Chill, Mom.”

Dogs are quick learners. If it doesn’t work at first, keep trying. The trick is to communicate with them in ways they understand. Except for maybe understanding a few commands, dogs don’t speak Human. They communicate with each other through scents, body language and sounds. They are very keen on picking up our emotions and body language.

Sooo…

1. Instead of spending a fortune on chemical remedies, give white distilled vinegar and baking soda a try.

2. Instead of sticking their noses into it and throwing them outside, try to figure out the root cause of your dog’s problem and deal with it in a way they understand.

Here are two good resources:

Victoria Stilwell
http://www.victoriastilwell.com/

Cesar Millan
http://www.cesarmillaninc.com/

If you have physical problems where you have to limit your sodium intake I strongly suggest you consult with your doctor before trying this one.

A few years ago I met a woman in her mid seventies. She had the most beautiful skin I’d ever seen on an adult. She was wearing no makeup and you could tell she had no “work” done but her complexion was flawless. Her hair was soft and shiny and she had a fresh, natural sent. She told me that she had always been very sensitive to chemicals and had always used nothing but baking soda for bathing and shampooing. She said the best part is that she seldom had to clean her shower because the baking soda kept it clean for her. The results were marvelous. I tried it and it really does work. Then I ran out of baking soda and forgot about it until today. It’s time I tried it again.

You can find large containers of baking soda at some stores, which is great if you also use baking soda for it’s many household cleaning and laundry possibilities. It’s great stuff. You can find it anywhere and it’s cheap!

Again, if you have problems, check with your doctor first. Baking soda contains a lot of sodium and might be absorbed through the skin.

Mimi

The long hall down the center of my house is very dark, both day and night. My 90 year old father sometimes gets up in the middle of the night to get a snack. I had to keep lights on 24/7 to make sure he didn’t trip. I used compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL’s) to save energy but they’re bright and can be a shock when you are coming out of a dark bedroom in the middle of the night.

I bought a string of white LED Christmas lights and strung them down the middle of the hallway ceiling. Then, using an adapter, plugged it into the existing light fixture. I liked the way they looked so I added another string along the den wall against the ceiling. I dug out an old floor lamp and, using another adapter, plugged the string into the lamp so I didn’t have an ugly cord hanging down the wall to the outlet. It also makes it easy to turn on and off. I leave the hall light on day and night and turn the den light on only after dark.

The effect is a nice soft glow and we now have a clear path of light from the bedrooms to the kitchen without flicking on any switches. LED bulbs use only at tiny amount of electricity and last a very long time.

The sun beats hard on the west side of our house. A few years ago I took the lattice from the windows out of storage and made solar screens. I  bought solar screen material from the local hardware store.  It comes on rolls and is inexpensive. I stapled it on the frames of the lattice and installed them on the outside of the windows. I already had frames that were made for the house but making your own frames would be a snap. Ready-made and custom made solar screens are VERY expensive. DIY screens are cheap and easy to make.

Our AC crashed last summer with temperatures in the mid 90’s. No problem. Solar screens, fans and open windows kept the house in the low 80’s in the hottest part of the day. In the winter I take the screens off to let the sun and heat into the house.