World Water Day, March 22

World Water Day, What can you do?

Living in the land of Ten Thousand Lakes and having a love affair with Lake Superior, I know first hand that clean water is important! I think of the West Coast of the United States and their severe drought every time I turn on the faucet. Below are water saving ideas from me and The World Wildlife Federation. This is serious. Water will be the next “most valuable resource,” and our survival as a people depends on adequate sources of clean water.

Ideas to help you protect the earth’s fresh water:

My List (doing one thing can make a difference!)

1. Reduce or eliminate all your use of chemicals in cleaning agents, and lawn and garden products. Tough I know, Read on…

2. Baking soda and vinegar will clean almost anything. See my chemical free cleaner on my Reduce Chemicals Page: https://health4earth.com/reduce-chemicals/

3. Use plants in your yard that do not require chemicals(native plants) and reduce the size of your lawn. Most native plants don’t need to be watered! http://findnativeplants.com/

4. Install rain barrels under your drain spouts or put rain gardens in areas where your water drains. Use this water to water your plants. AND redirect your drain spouts so they water your lawn.

5. Install a septic holding tank if your sewage does not drain into a public sewage system.

6. Purchase as many products you can afford that are organic or GMO free to reduce the amount of nitrates running into our lakes and streams.

7. Adopt a storm drain, keeping leaves, trash and yard waste from washing into our streams and lakes.

8. Never use cleaning materials that contain triclosan. http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentaries/251323351.html

9. Purchase products made from recycled materials. Recycled paper uses 60-70% less energy than virgin pulp and 55% less water.

10. Pick up after your dog, and never use salt on your sidewalk.

And from The World Wildlife Federation:

We all can do something to help fresh water. This World Water Day, March 22, you too can take action. Here’s how:

Raise a Glass…and Awareness
Express appreciation of fresh water by making a toast, taking a picture, and sharing it across social networks with #ToastToWater.

Crowdsource Scientific Data
Next time you’re near a river, stream or lake, take and pictures of the freshwater fish you encounter and upload them for conservation scientists around the world.

Adopt a Freshwater Species
Make a donation to symbolically adopt a freshwater species, such as a pink river dolphin or hellbender salamander.

Build a Rain Barrel
The average roof collects 600 gallons of water for every inch of rain. Capture some of that stormwater and help protect freshwater resources by building a rain barrel.

Learn about Unseen Water
Water is in almost everything. Take your average cotton t-shirt as an example: it can take 2,700 liters to produce the cotton needed to make a single t-shirt. While it’s important to fix leaky taps and buy efficient washing machines, we need to also be conscious of the unseen or “virtual water” we consume every day.

http://lillienews.com/articles/2014/03/20/water-water-everywhere-not-drip-sink#.UyyZTKhdVNs

Thank you, at the end of the day, we will all be healthier!

International Day of Happiness!

First Day of Spring and International Happiness!

http://climaterealityproject.org/blog/come-get-happy

Below is from Wikipedia:

The International Day of Happiness is celebrated throughout the world on the 20th of March. It was established by the United Nations General Assembly on 28 June 2012.

Assembly Resolution A/RES/66/281 states in pertinent part:

Balloons of Happiness
The General Assembly,[…] Conscious that the pursuit of happiness is a fundamental human goal,[…] Recognizing also the need for a more inclusive, equitable and balanced approach to economic growth that promotes sustainable development, poverty eradication, happiness and the well-being of all peoples, Decides to proclaim 20 March the International Day of Happiness, Invites all Member States, organizations of the United Nations system and other international and regional organizations, as well as civil society, including non-governmental organizations and individuals, to observe the International Day of Happiness in an appropriate manner, including through education and public awareness-raising activities[…]

—United Nations General Assembly, Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 28 June 2012[1]
The International Day of Happiness Resolution 65/309 was the result of the effort the Kingdom of Bhutan and its Gross National Happiness Initiative. [2]

This UN resolution marked the historical milestone of globalizing the Happiness Development Movement that started in 1972. [3]

The Arctic is Unraveling.

Did this cause the record snowfall in Boston?

Today’s news on the Arctic from the World Wildlife Fund:
In response to today’s news from the National Snow and Ice Data Center about record low winter sea ice extent, World Wildlife Fund released the following statement from Margaret Williams, managing director of Arctic programs.
“Today’s news is not only about record low levels of winter Arctic sea ice, it’s about the unraveling of the Arctic and the impact of climate change on the wildlife and people that call the region home.
“This is yet another signal that bold leadership is needed to address the climate crisis. As the US assumes chairmanship of the Arctic Council next month, we need a vision that redefines business-as-usual in the rapidly changing Arctic — one that embraces renewable energy, sustainable development, and healthy communities.”
http://www.mprnews.org/story/2015/03/19/bcst-climate-cast

https://health4earth.com/easy-things-you-can-do-to-help-stop-climate-change/

Happy Spring/Wildlife Wednesday

March 18, the seed heads still attract birds

Wildlife Wednesday, Happy Spring!

Spring in Minnesota is glorious! The snow piles have melted and icy snowy sidewalks are only a tiny bleep in memory. We have a yard with no turf grass and mostly native plants and grasses. The birds love to stop for plant seeds on their migration. I garden for the birds, bees, and butterflies. So far harbingers of spring have been juncos, robins, and the cardinals singing their morning spring song. The chickadees and the downy woodpecker sit in the lilac bush inches from my window. As you can see, it is time to cut off last year’s plants and grasses.

Prompt: Blogger In A Strange Land

#Blogging101 Prompt I just had to say something!

Styrofoam I pulled out of lakes breaking into small pieces

This past January when I was visiting one of the most beautiful places on earth, the Caribbean, I observed litter that upset me. Yes, I am obsessed with litter and clean water. Litter along waterways is unacceptable. The shock was that some local restaurants only served their food in Styrofoam boxes. The Styrofoam boxes were littering the street gutters and shoreline. I wanted no part of this Styrofoam disaster, and searched for food on real plates. Often they had to wash plates just for us.

Why does this upset me? Styrofoam breaks into tiny pieces and no one knows how long it will last in our oceans, maybe forever. Not good for sea life or ocean health. Styrofoam can be recycled, but it is very hard to find. Manufacturers of Styrofoam as well as Coca-Cola and plastic bottle industry should recycle the harmful products they produce, and we should all avoid Styrofoam and plastic bottles as much as possible.

Zero Waste, Is it Possible?

Bulk purchasing exactly the amount needed for zerowaste — Bulk purchasing exactly the amount needed for zero waste

I have just spent the morning in a seminar learning about the new organic compost program in Minneapolis. With an obsession for reducing trash I work on this daily, but just can’t see how to get to zero waste. We purchase in bulk using compostable paper bags, and refill every bottle with items that are available.
One woman, Bea Johnson, has been able to accomplish zero waste. What is the most amazing of all, she and her husband have two sons!

Here are Bea Johnson’s 10 easy steps to zero waste living:

Some co-ops have fabulous selections of soaps and lotions for bottle refills.

Refuse

Fight junk mail. It’s not just a waste of resources, but also of time. Register to receive less at org,optoutprescreen.org and catalogchoice.org.
Turn down freebies from conferences, fairs and parties. Every time you take one, you create a demand to make more. Do you really need another “free” pen?

Reduce

Declutter your home, and donate to your local thrift shop. You’ll lighten your load and make precious resources available to those looking to buy secondhand.
Reduce your shopping trips and keep a shopping list. The less you bring home, the less waste you’ll have to deal with.

Reuse

Swap disposables for reusables (start using handkerchiefs, refillable bottles, shopping totes, cloth napkins, rags, etc.). You might find that you don’t miss your paper towels, but rather enjoy the savings
Avoid grocery shopping waste: Bring reusable totes, cloth bags (for bulk aisles), and jars (for wet items like cheese and deli foods) to the store and farmers market.

Recycle

Know your city’s recycling policies and locations—but think of recycling as a last resort. Have you refused, reduced or reused first? Question the need and life-cycle of your purchases. Shopping is voting.
Buy primarily in bulk or secondhand, but if you must buy new, choose glass, metal or cardboard.Avoid plastic: Much of it gets shipped across the world for recycling and often ends up in the landfill (or worse yet, the ocean).

Rot

Find a compost system that works for your home and get to know what it will digest (dryer lint, hair, and nails are all compostable).

Turn your home kitchen trash can into one large compost receptacle. The bigger the compost receptacle, the more likely you’ll be to use it freely.

http://ecowatch.com/2015/03/10/bea-johnsoon-zero-waste-guru/

What do you do to reduce your waste?

It’s the Only Water We Will Ever Have!

Do we take our drinkable water for granted?

The water we have here on earth is the ONLY water we will ever have! Our water moves through the incredible water cycle by evaporating, and then returning to earth in some form of precipitation. We reuse, reuse and reuse the same water. I have gratitude that, my state, Minnesota is a water rich state. Unfortunately, even in proud Minnesota we don’t take care of our water.

Seelink: http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/health/295353031.html Streams and lakes in southwest Minnesota unsafe for fish and swimming

If this is the only water we will ever have on earth, shouldn’t we treat it better? What we do on the land affects what happens in our water. Rain through polluted air brings those chemicals into our water bodies. Rain washes chemicals off our houses, lawns, sidewalks and fields into our rivers and lakes. Micro-beads and triclosan from our cosmetics and cleaning products wash into our waters. Litter from landscapes and streets and highways can find it’s way into our streams, lakes and oceans. Our water does have some ability to clean itself, but with the amounts of pollutants we put into it, it has become impossible! It is very expensive to clean polluted water and impossible to remove plastics and Styrofoam. What can we all do to ensure clean water? If we all work together we can make a difference.

Easy ways to protect our water:

* Never litter, pick up litter, and all waste from your dogs.

* Never put salt on your sidewalks

* Don’t put chemicals on your yard or plants. Reduce the size of your lawn with a few easy to raise native plants.

* Never use Styrofoam and recycle all plastic, paper, cans and glass.

Do Not Use the Chemical Triclosan

What Products Contain Microbeads?

Our Living Beautiful Oceans

I love lakes, I love rivers and I love the ocean. This blog from the point of the view of the sea and tide shows a deep appreciation of the ocean and made me happy. It is so real. I worry about the way we are taking care of our all water bodies, and feel hope when others think about how important and unique our oceans are to all of us. I think you will like it also:

https://smallthingsmakeabigchange.wordpress.com/2015/03/12/sea-and-a-tide/

My Toast to Women

In celebration of International Women’s Day, I make a toast to some of the women I think are our best role models. Angela Merkel, Elizabeth Warren, Arianna Huffington, Michelle Obama, Gwen Ifill and Judy Woodruff rank among my top choices. They educate and care about how the world functions. They know that we all must to work together to find the best solutions possible.

Let’s look beyond ideology, power and money. Look to the women of the world for ideas, and new solutions for our world’s problems.

When girls are educated, their future children are healthier and better nourished” —President Obama:

Who would you add to my list, and why?

Author: health4earth