Green Lifestyle Lighting – CFLs: Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Short video describing several reasons why everyone should consider changing from regular light bulbs to the newer compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in support of your green lifestyle!
Nice work Lee … Thanks!
About to Paint Around the House? Shop for Eco-Friendly No-VOC Paints
Over the last decade, the presence of numerous airborne chemicals in our indoor environments has been very well documented. Many of these chemicals are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) known to cause respiratory and other health problems including asthma in both adults and children.
Sources of these VOCs have been traced back to household cleaning products, home maintenance chemicals (solvents, thinners, etc.) and even the paints and finishes used on our walls.
Though some household cleaning product companies have developed no VOC alternatives over the last few decades, only recently have the paint companies followed that early lead.
Even still, it appears that some of the companies now advertising non-VOC paints, are still producing paints with other volatile compounds that also raise health concerns.
Watch the following documentary video from BGTV to learn more about the ins and outs of eco-friendly paints!
Huge Oil Find off Brazil’s Coast Kills Alternative Energy Need!
Sounds like T. Boone Pickens might have lost again ….
Isn’t amazing how quickly things can change. Just one short year ago, fuel prices were soaring and the emphasis on alternative energy was in the stratosphere along with them.
This summer it’s a completely different story.
Though thoughts of alternative energy systems haven’t completely diminished, it has definitely started to drift off to the sidelines.
Why?
First of all … The Economy ….
When people are suddenly being pressured with increasing costs, lay-offs or threats of lay-offs, stagnating salaries and so forth, it is difficult to be as enthusiastic about a topic like alternative energy. Add in the fact that financing for alternative energy programs ran into the same funding issues as everything else, many projects were pushed to the back burner for the moment.
Then couple the fall in oil prices (> $120/barrel in ’08 to <$70/barrel in ’09) and lower prices at the pump thus easing the financial burden on summer travelers and it is easy to see why most people are starting to slip into complacency about our energy situation.
Now I am not saying we have completely forgotten about our energy situation but there are definitely more pressing things on our minds at the moment. The one thing we can not afford to do is become completely complacent with foreign oil since the root of the problem (our dependence on it contributes to the financial burden on our economy) is still very much alive.
I became even more concerned today when I came across a news story posted on the Associated Press (AP) website about a significant oil discovery off the coast of Brazil.
The AP reported oil exploration companies had found a field believed to contain up to 8 billion barrels of oil in a region where the total recoverable oil estimates range up to 100 billion barrels.
Those are awfully big numbers aren’t they!
Perhaps or maybe they are just a little deceptive ….
First of all, the 100 billion barrel figure is the high-end estimate and there could be substantially less recoverable oil present given the location (deep water and difficult drilling conditions). Secondly, let’s consider the quantity of oil present with the current daily global use of oil (85,897,000 barrels/day).
100,000,000,000 barrels/85,897,000 barrels/day = 1,164 DAYS
1,164 days/365 days/year = ~3.2 YEARS
Although the numbers may appear impressive (and in some respects they are), the high-end estimates only adds a few years into the global oil reserve. If it turns out recoverable oil is more towards the low end of the range (50 billion barrels) it would only add 1.6 years into the global oil reserves. Oh and one other thing, Brazil is a foreign country and therefore that is foreign oil as well!
Just remember, even though the economic burden imposed by petro-fuel costs have been somewhat alleviated from the recent past and there are claims by many people associated with the petroleum industry of huge finds to keep us going, the numbers just don’t add up!
Support viable alternative energy projects when ever you have the chance!
Are These Bipartisan Green Cleaning Products?
Green cleaning products are being used in the White House!
These same green cleaning products were formerly used in Dick Cheney’s Vice President Residence!
Are these the first bipartisan green cleaning products? Can there really be that kind of compromise in Washington D.C. ? 
Actually, I use them and am an Independent …. I guess that means they are multi-partisan!
There is little doubt, Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee was truly a green lifestyle visionary as indicated by his life’s work and the following quote:
“Listen to the voice of nature and feel the joy of living” – Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee.
As mentioned in a news interview on a St. Louis, MO TV station of current CEO, Roger Barnett, the Shaklee Corporation introduced one of the green cleaning product lines anchored by Basic H® in 1960. (Sidenote: Rachel Carson’s – Silent Spring credited with launching the current environmental movements wasn’t even published until 1962).
Ever since they were introduced, Shaklee Corporation has continually worked to refine their green cleaning products line always striving to maintain the balance between our safety and the environment. Shaklee’s current line of green cleaning products, Get Clean®, comprises a complete system of Earth-friendly home cleaners.
Some of the reasons why I chose Shaklee green cleaning products over 25 years ago include:
- The Get Clean® products are safe for people and the Planet;
- Tough on dirt outperforming or matching the cleaning strength of >20 national brands;
- Products like Shaklee Basic H2® (second generation of Basic H®) are ultra-concentrated reducing waste, shipping costs and not only being green but saving green ($) as well;
- The Get Clean® starter kit can save families over $3400, eliminate > 100 pounds of packaging waste and >240 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
It is great to see even the “Big Boys” of D.C. can get beyond the politics of the day and agree on something even if it is just a line of green cleaning products that is good for all of us and the environment!
For more information about Shaklee green cleaning products and the Get Clean® line, leave a comment below!
White House Gets the Lead Out!
No, not by getting rid of some of the old political cronies that permeate Washington but by simple organic gardening practices in the new White House vegetable garden!
Given the fact that I had posted a previous article on lead in urban gardens, it seemed fitting to create this as a follow-up.
I believe Washington D.C. is considered an urban environment
The White House Goes Green!
In case you missed it, First Lady Michelle Obama (with the help of staff and local students) broke ground and planted an organic fruit and vegetable garden on the White House lawn earlier this year. The “fruits” (or should I say vegetables) of their labor started to be harvested and June with the intent to provide fresh, organically-grown produce for the First Family, White House staffers and even some State dinners!
See the video below for an up close look at the White House gardening venture:
Amongst all the initial hoopla associated with the planting of the garden was a report of “elevated” levels of lead in the soil of the garden plot. According to a story in today’s New York Times, the initial level of lead reported was 93 p.p.m. which is less than 25% of the hazard level established by the U.S. E.P.A. (though countries like the Netherlands set hazard levels as low as 40 p.p.m.).
Through the actions taken to enhance the productivity of the garden plot, lead levels were decreased to as low as 14 p.p.m. Concentrations like these are typically found in areas where there has been little human activity and is indicative of natural levels of lead in the environment.
So what actions were taken exactly?
A few simple organic gardening steps were implemented to enhance the ground’s fertility and also reduce the availability of lead to the plants including:
- Addition of lime;
- Addition of green sand;
- Addition of crab meal;
- Addition of organic compost supplied by the National Park Service; and
- Adjusting the soil pH to between 6.5 and 7.
It should be noted, when developing compost to use in produce gardens be sure to avoid using organic material obtained along roadways or in high traffic areas since this material often has higher levels of lead.
So the next time your near D.C. and pass the organic produce section of a local market, think about the steps taken at the White House to produce contaminant-free and nutrient-rich fruits and veggies. On the other hand, if the produce was grown on another urban garden, hopefully they used similar practices to “keep the lead out”.
