Are There Chemicals in Your Household Cleaning Products?
A podcast with my thoughts on people’s perception of the word “chemical” (be patient, it may take a moment to load):
[audio:meaningofchemical.mp3]
Right click to download the audio MP3 file: Meaning of Chemical
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Interesting question isn’t it?
Read the short post below and listen to the podcast above and see why I believe a lot of people really don’t know the answer!
Many people seem to think that if household cleaning products (or other products for that matter) contain chemicals, they must be toxic, unsafe or not earth-friendly. Part of the issue again comes down to a combination of multiple meanings for a term, in this case chemical, as well as confusion about chemicals that might be in various products.
The fundamental meaning of the word chemical relates to the fact that all matter is made of the chemical elements. Therefore the only time there would not be chemicals present if there was an absolute vacuum. We could not survive in an absolute vacuum!
Everything around us is chemical.
The air is a mixture of nitrogen, oxygen, water vapor, carbon dioxide, etc.
Water is H2O and we can’t live without it!
Arsenic is a naturally occurring chemical element we can pretty much live without!
Every material in the environment around us including our household cleaning products consists of chemical compounds and nothing, other than an absolute vacuum can be 100% chemical free ….
Keep these facts in mind as you listen to the podcast and please leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
Nine Green Home Remedies for Soothing Sunburn Pain
Is this mild? .. Ouch!
We’ve all likely done it, run out the door on a hot summer’s day after forgetting to anoint all exposed skin areas with our favorite sunscreen or other means of sunburn prevention. In a few hours we start to notice several of the exposed areas feel warm and tight then later … wham, the full effects of the sunburn hit home!
Fortunately most of us have a number of nature’s green remedies (plus a few other items) readily available around the home to help alleviate the pain and inflammation.
Green Home Sunburn Remedies from the Kitchen
- Take a chilly bath or shower for several minutes. Try not to use soap or only use mild ones if you must then rinse off and do not use a washcloth finally patting yourself dry with a soft towel;
- Add ½ to 1 cup oatmeal to the cooled bathwater rather than bath oils. You can also use Aveeno powder (oatmeal-based) found in my drug stores. Air dry your body to let the effects of the soothing oatmeal linger (baking soda is another alternative);
- Use honey as a salve by coating the burned area to promote healing;
- Take a couple of washed potatoes, cut into small pieces, add to your blender then process until they take on a liquid or pasty form (if pasty, add water to liquefy), pat the sunburned patches with the liquid then allow to dry before rinsing with cool water; and
- Soak a washcloth in cool water then apply to burned areas as a cool compress.
Home Sunburn Remedy Selections from the Bathroom Medicine Chest
- Apply a skin moisturizer after bathing to help with dryness and pain (chilling the moisturizer before use can help add relief);
- Use pure Aloe Vera gel (98% or greater) which helps increase blood flow then lower pain and inflammation;
- Sometimes cream or spray topical anesthetics can help if used correctly (be sure to use as directed and check ingredients to insure safety and minimize health issues);
- Use an over the counter pain reliever such as aspirin, ibuprofen (preferred) or acetaminophen (if the first two are problematic for you) to lower both pain and inflammation.
Each of these remedies should help you tolerate the pain and discomfort brought on by mild cases of sunburn. Remember, however, to take the proper actions to prevent future issues the next time you head out for some fun in the Sun!
Note that these remedies are primarily for small areas and minor sunburn cases. If the burn area is extensive (whole back for instance), if you experience fever/achiness, or the burn develops blisters or forms a light brown crust, seek medical advice immediately.
Do Efficient Diesel Engines Plus Biodiesel from Algae Equal Green Transportation?
Energy issues are usually floating around amidst the myriad of thoughts in our heads especially this time of year as vacation season approaches and historical price increases occur. Events of the recent past have finally resurrected interest and development of viable alternative energy systems like wind, solar and bio-fuels (biodiesel from algae is one I am keenly interested in) as green transportation energy sources.
After last summer’s dramatic price swing in the cost of crude oil and refined products, America and the rest of the World’s interest in alternative energy options swung almost as dramatically. Although the interest in alternative energy decreased during the last quarter of 2008 and earlier this year (mainly related to the economic woes across the globe), we are fortunate it did not die off completely. Perhaps the reality of fossil fuel limitations (both natural and imposed by the producers) has finally sunk in so alternative energy projects can continue development and ultimately implementation.
I came across a news report today summarizing a report of substantial progress by diesel engine manufacturers in drastically reducing the emission of particulates, CO and NOx compounds over the last half decade. This change was in response to new diesel engine emission standards set by the U. S. EPA that went into effect in 2007. It was reported that most manufacturers had not only met but greatly reduced emissions below the standards.
Just think …. diesel engines not puffing out plumes of black, sooty, smelly smokes each time they drive down the road (or at least far less of it) …. COOL!
If the diesel engine companies can continue to further reduce emissions and alternative energy companies can develop a non-petroleum source of diesel (like aquatic algae a.k.a. pond scum fuel), we may be on the way to seeing a significant change in how we power our transportation needs!
Regretfully it’s not quite as easy as that since the biodiesel from algae (pond scum fuel) is in the latter stages of R&D. A few of those companies claim they could be producing substantial quantities of biodiesel within a three to five year period with continued support and resources. It seems to me this is an area of upcoming alternative energy development deserving attention and support …
Here are the links to a few sites with additional information:
Advanced Collaborative Emissions Study (Diesel Engines)
Biodiesel from Algae (Pond Scum) by Valcent/Vertigro
What Does Natural Mean Exactly?
Yesterday’s post posed a simple question about baking soda … is it natural?
After providing a little background information about the composition and sources of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate), it was clear that there is a considerable amount of processing taking place in both the older Solvay process as well as the current processes to produce baking soda from the mineral trona.
But is it really the amount of processing that determines whether or not something is natural?
Let’s consider a few facts and see what we uncover!
According to the American Heritage Dictionary online, the basic definition for the word “natural” as an adjective is:
“Present in or produced by nature; and as used in Biology – Not produced or changed artificially; not conditioned”.
Based on this definition, my understanding is that for something to be natural it must either be the raw material supplied by the Earth system or a material existing in the natural material that can be extracted or refined without changing it.
So when we use a raw material directly, say salt as a preservative; nahcolite (mineral form of sodium bicarbonate) as baking soda; or fine grit mineral as an abrasive, those materials are indeed natural.
The other case I see as being natural is when we extract or refine a substance to purify without adding anything to the product such as extraction or refining of essential oils and even extracting components existing in a mineral (so long as nothing new is added).
Thinking back to the two processes to produce baking soda, when the Solvay process was being used to produce baking soda (which it really is not today), baking soda was essentially manufactured and not natural.
In the case of processing trona (Na3CO3(HCO3) – 2H2O), since the mineral contains NaHCO3 this is really a matter of extracting sodium bicarbonate from trona.
Because it is essentially an extraction process, today’s baking soda is indeed “natural”.
Do you agree?
Is Baking Soda Natural?
A simple title isn’t it?
If you do a web search for that phrase, you will find link after link touting baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is an agent for natural cleaning, skin care, tooth care and the list goes on and on ….
The more I thought about it however, something didn’t quite seem to fit …
Part of the issue relates to where most baking soda comes from, while the other is due to an understanding of the meaning of “natural” when discussing these types of substances.
Is there a “natural” form of sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)?
Now I am totally aware sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3), a.k.a. baking soda, does exist in large quantities within Mother Earth’s system in the form of a mineral called nahcolite.
Even though nahcolite is the natural form of sodium bicarbonate, is it used as the source of baking soda?
Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) Production ….
Historically, baking soda was manufactured using the Solvay process (developed in the mid nineteenth century) by processing calcium carbonate (usually limestone) with salt brine (sodium chloride) that had been saturated with ammonia. Other products derived from this process includes sodium carbonate (Na2CO3) also known as soda ash and calcium chloride (CaCl2). This Solvay system is definitely a chemical manufacturing process for producing baking soda!
After the discovery of substantial deposits of another sodium carbonate mineral called trona (Na3CO3(HCO3) – 2H2O), the use of the Solvay process fell off by 1980. The shift away from using the Solvay process was two-fold:
1) it was less costly to mine and process trona to produce baking soda and soda ash;
2) hypothetically, processing trona is more “earth-friendly”.
Like nahcolite, trona is an inorganic, evaporate mineral forming as mineral-laden waters evaporate away causing the chemicals in solution (like Na+, Ca2+, HCO3-, CO32-) to recombine and precipitate out forming beds of new minerals. Significant deposits of trona and nahcolite were formed as ancient lakes (>50 million years ago) evaporated away in parts of western Wyoming and northwestern Colorado.
The trona deposits of this region are now the targets of several mines and the companies produce more than 17 million tons of trona (and a few hundred thousand tons of nahcolite) each year from the Wyoming deposits alone.
More than 95% of the baking soda and virtually all soda ash used in the U. S. each year is derived by processing trona (per the Wyoming Mining Association).
Since trona (Na3CO3(HCO3) – 2H2O) is not pure sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) it has to be processed to derive soda ash (sodium carbonate or Na2CO3) first then baking soda (NaHCO3) is produced from the soda ash by adding CO2.
So technically speaking, the bulk of the baking soda we buy in the grocery store is a material that is produced by first mining the mineral trona which is then processed into soda ash (Na2CO3) which is subsequently mixed with more CO2 to finally produce baking soda (sodium bicarbonate).
Does this sound like a completely natural product to you?
To me it seems like there is an awful lot of “production” going on when making baking soda!
