Loving A Mild Winter, My Superior View

Ice on Lake Superior doesn't last long. — *Ice on Lake Superior doesn’t last long.*

“There is a privacy about winter that no other season gives you. Only in winter can you have longer, quiet stretches when you can savor belonging to yourself.” Ruth Stout

January has been a month of peace, quiet and intense beauty on Lake Superior. Snow frosted balsams radiate a charm that goes unnoticed during other seasons.

Then a few hours later open water on the big lake. — A few hours later, open water with a few ice clumps on the big lake.

The face of the lake can change hourly as the lake refreshes itself, and the wind shifts. The lake dramatically changes from ice-covered to a few floating chunks of ice, and then back to ice-covered. Sporting new looks adds to the mystique of this enormous fresh water lake.

Calmer winds allow the balsams to stay snow covered. A few ice chunks on the lake.

Pure Michigan?

As you drive into Michigan you are greeted with an advertising campaign,”Welcome to Pure Michigan” with images of clean pure water. Could the millions spent on this campaign have been put into actually keeping their water clean? Even when Governor Rick Snyder’s administration knew the water in Flint was bad, they told residents it was safe.

Why has telling lies become OK? Why do officials entrusted with our safety make stupid uninformed decisions? Why don”t they get the big picture? Do they become blinded by power and campaign donations? Do they understand the word trust? What needs to change?

No one should be allowed to mess with water or food safety. As a public, we trust that the best decisions are made for our safety. However, holding elected officials accountable is tough. They know most of us aren’t paying attention and think they can do almost anything without being penalized. Saving money in Flint, Michigan became more important than using good sense . Officials, including Governor Rick Snyder, should all be forced to resign and be banned from government jobs in the future. The fact that lead polluted water flowed into the homes in Michigan in the year 2015-2016 is astonishing.

I would always be wary of candidates that claim they will “cut your taxes”. Yes, they cut taxes on the backs of the most vulnerable. In Flint, Michigan officials were more interested in saving money than the health of their constituents. The only good thing about this situation is that they have been caught. Unfortunately, caught after harming of the health and future of Flint’s children and residents. Below is an excellent segment from the PBS Newshour about what happened in Flint:

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/in-flint-public-trust-poisoned-by-toxic-drinking-water-crisis-2/

Pediatrician Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha, who called attention to the elevated lead levels in Flint’s children, explained to NPR how the city’s water came to be contaminated:

“The city of Flint under state-appointed emergency management, almost bankrupt … switched their water source from Detroit, which was fresh Great Lakes water source, which we’ve been using for over 50 years, to the local Flint River to save money.

“And that local Flint River was innately more corrosive than the Great Lakes water source. And the critical corrosion inhibitor, which is mandatory for all drinking water systems to use … was not added to that water.

“So you had a more corrosive water source without the corrosion control added to it, going into an aging infrastructure with a lot of lead plumbing. That was a perfect storm for that lead to leach out of the pipes into the drinking water and into the bodies of children.”

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/01/16/463319454/obama-declares-state-of-emergency-over-flints-contaminated-water

https://ecowatch.com/2016/01/18/obama-flint-state-of-emergency/

http://www.startribune.com/a-timeline-of-the-water-crisis-in-flint-michigan/365527721/

http://www.startribune.com/flint-is-exhibit-a-for-environmental-regulations/366133611/

http://www.startribune.com/a-sensible-presidential-veto-in-the-wake-of-a-drinking-water-disaster/365990721/

What can you do?

1. Read the paper and pay attention to what policymakers are doing.

2. Call officials, attend city meetings. Let them know you are not happy.

3. Always vote, and not for the tax cutter!

4. Trust: What can we do to make officials want to earn our trust? If they want leadership positions, shouldn’t they be role models for the greater good? How do we ever get to that point?

5. Support rules and policy that call for strict clean and water and air standards.

Ready for City Composting?

Backyard Compost Collection This is now frozen and covered by snow.

http://www.startribune.com/four-things-to-know-before-you-get-your-new-minneapolis-organics-bin/366901451/

Food waste composes about 30% of our landfill waste. If left to rot in landfills it can create green house gases, and if it is burned, it pollutes the air. We can change food waste into a new healthy material for our gardens and plants. The end result of food waste is compost. No fertilizer or chemicals needed with compost!
I am thrilled my city, Minneapolis, is beginning to collect food waste for composting. You need to sign up for a cart by February 1, 2016.
Below is a great video about commercial composting:

If you have participated in commercial composting in your city, give us some tips to help us learn about it.

Just say, “No straw!”

Just say “no” to straws

My series on #31daysoflesswaste continues: How can you use less plastic today, and everyday? Below is an exciting campaign to eliminate the use of straws. It gives you hope!

Keeping plastic out our oceans, lakes and rivers is essential. Below is a video of a “No Straw” campaign being done by high school students in California. You will like it.

Resolutions to help You and our Planet to Better Health

“If everyone does a little bit, it adds up to a whole lot!” health4earth

We all need to take some personal responsibility to make ourselves and our planet healthier. Below are some of the things I work for everyday, and I hope you will add a few of them to your 2016 agenda. Please respond with your clean climate ideas.

My series #31daysoflesswaste continues:

1. Buy less stuff, reuse, reuse and reuse the things you have.

2. Stop idling your car, bundle your car trips together to drive less, and carpool more! Or take the bus!

3. How can I use less electricity?

4. How can I prepare for drought and inundation? Save water run-off by planning and building a rain garden with native plants. http://bluethumb.org/raingardens/

5. Compost food scraps and strive to be a Climatarian. https://health4earth.com/2015/12/28/climatarian-a-new-resolution/

6. Recycle and donate your unwanted stuff “More and more people understand that there is no “away” in the finite system that is planet Earth and that we can’t keep using our precious air, water and land to dump the stuff we no longer want. If something can’t be reused, repaired, refurbished or otherwise repurposed, the next best thing is to recycle it.” David Suzuki www.earth911.com or donate to your local donation non-profit

7. How can I reduce single-use consumption of plastic bottles/containers, and reduce my consumption of plastic bags?

What do you do for our planet and yourself to be healthier?

Happy 2016!

My Four Thoughts of Hope

2015 has been a good year for some environmental initiatives. While there is still a long way to go. I have four stories from 2015 that create hope for the future of our planet.

Microbeads: Congress passed and President Obama signed legislation banning microbeads from products. This is huge for our lakes, streams and oceans! http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/12/obama_signs_ban_on_microbead_p.html
Renewable Energy: I have been thrilled many times this year as I read about new solar installations. Both wind and solar have entered the big leagues of energy. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/12/24/why-2015-may-be-remembered-as-a-transformative-year-for-how-we-get-energy/
GMOs: Large manufacturers are starting to reject GMO ingredients. While so far it might be just talk, it is a big change, thanks to the voice of the consumer! http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-food-gmo-analysis-idUSBREA1H1G420140218
Paris Climate Agreement: Thanks to President Obama, President Hollande and the French negotiators we have an incredible beginning to deal with climate change. http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/12/13/npr-2-degrees-100-billion-the-world-climate-agreement-by-the-numbers

Climatarian, A New Resolution!

Lentil Stew for Meatless Monday (lentils from Montana, carrots and onions grown in Minnesota)

My series on reducing waste continues, #31daysoflesswaste

What is a Climatarian?

A Climatarian diet involves choosing what you eat based on the carbon footprint of the food, and using your power as a consumer to drive down the production of beef and lamb which have the biggest impact on our climate. A climatarian is about eating local food to reduce transportation and reducing food waste.

Climatarian defined in NYT’s top food words 2015: http://nyti.ms/1SZ0jFc see http://bit.ly/goclimatarian for more info

What on Earth is a climatarian?

http://www.climates.network/climatarian

https://health4earth.com/meatless-mondays/

My easy suggestions to become a Climatarian

Celebrate Meatless Monday, and a few other days also
Shop food co-ops and eat locally grown foods. Even in December I can find foods grown in Minnesota and Wisconsin.
Walk or take the bus shopping, and grow and preserve your own food
Eliminate beef and reduce cheese consumption
Compost all food waste

Entertaining? Three Easy Ways to Cut Landfill Waste

My series, 31 days of less waste continues. Three easy ways to cut landfill waste this week:
** Always use real plates, cups, glasses and silverware.

If you lack enough real dishes

for your party or dinner, borrow from a friend or relative. The quality of your party improves 100% even if everything doesn’t match. It will still make your event special. Using paper/plastic plates and glasses creates lots of landfill waste.

** A very wasteful trend has developed. Often the only water served at parties is water in small plastic bottles. Serve municipal water in real glasses. A great way to cut waste and save money is to drink water from public water systems. Run tap water through a Brita or other water filter and you have water better than bottled water. Water filters can be recycled at Terracycle.com

** Get in the habit of using reusable table napkins. Make your own napkins from remnant pieces

or purchase napkins from reuse stores. Use your imagination, wash cloths or bandanas also make good napkins. They don’t need to match, I like a contrasting colors look.

From Thanksgiving to New Year’s Day, household waste increases by more than 25%. Added food waste, shopping bags, packaging, wrapping paper, bows and ribbons all adds up to an additional 1 million tons a week to our landfills. (EPA)

ECO Gift Wraping

Day 13, of 31 days of less waste

Below ideas from Yogajournal.com

Have you ever waded knee-deep through the detritus of discarded paper, tissue, and ribbon after a gift-opening frenzy and thought, “What a waste”? Well, you’re right. According to Use Less Stuff, during the holiday season Americans throw away 25 percent more trash than usual—or 25 million tons of garbage. What’s more, many wrapping materials are not recyclable because they have a high metal content

6 Eco-Friendly Ways to Wrap Gifts

Furoshiki is a type of traditional Japanese wrapping using cloth. Take any square of cloth—a bandana, a scarf, or even a cut-up shirt or pair of jeans—lay it out in a diamond shape, and center the gift on it. Flip the southern corner of fabric up over the gift, tucking the cloth under if necessary, and bring the north corner over the top and let any extra material hang. Then tie the east and west corners at the top of the gift.
Decorate a paper bag with stencil or crayon.
Use an out-of-date map or some sheet music.
Recycle vintage containers, such as cigar, shoe, or hat boxes.
Incorporate environmentally friendly items, such as raffia, string, or strips of cotton or silk, in lieu of synthetic ribbon.
Use natural gift-box fillers, such as leaves, straw, pine needles, or shredded recycled paper scented with a few drops of essential oil.

My favorites for wrapping gifts are:

My husband's gift wrapping — My husband’s gift wrapping

** Use washable, reusable shopping bags as gift bags

** I reuse the gift bags from last year for this year’s gifts.

** Use light hand towels or cloth napkins.

** Use wrapping paper made of recycled materials

http://www.yogajournal.com

https://www.bridgingthegap.org/using-less-stuff/

Surprise of the Year/Lake Superior

Lake Superior in winter, Is this a thing of the past? — Lake Superior in winter, Is ice a thing of the past?

Lake Superior a Climate Change Antenna

Over 90% of global warming is in the oceans. A decades long research on 235 lakes shows that, “Lake Superior is one of the more rapidly warming lakes” The big lake is warming even faster than the oceans! My unscientific observation is that it seems like the days the wind off the lake are fewer. But that happens when warmer winds from the west and south dominate! Also part of our warming climate.

So why is it important?

1. Toxic clouds of algae can bloom. And run-off from the land makes this worse!

2. Fish populations are altered, which has been going on for a while!

3. The worst: Invasive species can find a new home!

More reasons to reduce you carbon footprint.

See the story below:

http://www.startribune.com/world-s-lakes-are-warming-up/362719881/