Category: rivers

Good Ideas to Reduce Plastic

turtle-plastic by ecomena.org
turtle-plastic by ecomena.org

This is an excellent blog on reducing plastic from http://www.ecomena.org. It is so simple!
Ecomena’s top ways to reduce plastic are:
1. Bring your own shopping bags
2. Buy bulk and refill your own containers
3. Don’t purchase bottled water
4. Say “No” to straws

Read the entire blog here

And, Health4earth on Refuse Plastic 

Bring your own water bottle
Bring your own water bottle

 

 

Some co-ops and grocery stores have fabulous selections of soaps and oils to refill your bottles
Some co-ops and grocery stores have fabulous selections of soaps and oils to refill your bottles

Surprising Microfibers in Fish and Food.

Jon Platek
by Jon Platek

Living in a cold winter climate, I love my fleece shirts, and have been struggling with this information for a few months trying to ignore the facts.
Studies have shown the Mississippi River is full of these microfibers. These are even smaller than microbeads.   Microbeads in soaps, make-up, and toothpaste created much worry and Congress has banned them. However, new studies are showing that microfibers are worse for us and wildlife than microbeads. Yikes, very confusing.  Read the entire article on the Mississippi River study

Information from NPR:

“The innovation of synthetic fleece has allowed many outdoor enthusiasts to hike with warmth and comfort. But what many of these fleece-wearing nature lovers don’t know is that each wash of their jackets and pullovers releases thousands of microscopic plastic fibers, or microfibers, into the environment — from their favorite national park to agricultural lands to waters with fish that make it back onto our plates.
This has scientists wondering: Are we eating our sweaters’ synthetic microfibers?
Probably, says Chelsea Rochman, an ecologist and evolutionary biologist at the University of Toronto, St. George. “Microfibers seem to be one of the most common plastic debris items in animals and environmental samples,” Rochman says.
In fact, peer-reviewed studies have shown that these synthetic microfibers — a type of plastic smaller than a millimeter in length and made up of various synthetic polymers — have popped up in table salt in China, in arctic waters and in fish caught off the coast of California. These tiny fibers make up 85 percent of human debris on shorelines across the globe, according to a 2011 study. They’re basically inescapable. So it’s not unlikely they’re finding their way into the human diet, especially in seafood.” NPR

Fleece keeps us warm!
Fleece keeps us warm!

I hope that municipalities will come up with filters that will take these fibers out of our water during sewage treatment, or filters will become available to put on our washing machines, but until then we can wash our fleece less and try to consider some alternative natural clothing like wool and cotton.

  1. Wash fleece less often.
  2. Stay informed on microfibers
  3. Wear cotton and wool

https://health4earth.com/2014/07/16/what-products-contain-microbeads/

Ways to Complain

Donate today 

NO one has called, but the White House comment line is closed!
No one has made calls to Donald Trump complaining about his renewal of the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines??? The White House comment line has been closed for a few weeks!  This is what he said this week, “As you know I approved two pipelines that were stuck in limbo forever. I don’t even think it was controversial. I approved them. I haven’t even had one call from anybody saying that was a terrible thing you did. I haven’t had one call … Then as you know I did the Dakota Pipeline and no one called up to complain.” Donald Trump
The telephone comment line to might be closed , but you can send a tweet @realDonaldTrump or send a post card. I hope you will do both. You can also call one of his businesses: https://whitehouseinc.org/  or contact him through this link: http://p2a.co/xdL9jbf

Some background:

  1. This is an excellent analysis from NRDC.
  2. More information from Ecowatch
  3. An idea for a postcard from NRDC “I am outraged that you have issued executive memoranda clearing the way for the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines with no input from the American public. I urge you to reverse course on these dangerous and dirty fossil fuel projects.
    These pipelines are not in our national interest and I, along with millions of others, will fight you every step of the way if your administration moves forward with them.” Idea from NRDC for postcard20170124_153543

 

 

Voters for Dirty Air And Water?

Do we want lakes that look like this?
Do we want lakes that look like this?

Did voters on November 8, vote for dirty water and dirty air?  I know one Trump voter who is totally against the Dakota Access Pipeline. I can’t believe that November’s vote was to trash our water and air! Please call your senators.

No matter where you live, call your senator and tell them to oppose Scott Pruitt’s confirmation as EPA Administrator: (202) 224-3121
 You can use this tool to quickly find your senator and click to call them: http://on.nrdc.org/2kkFfOL

Below is from the NRDC, Natural Resources Defense Council:

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is the worst, most extreme nominee ever tapped to lead the U.S Environmental Protection Agency. We must stop him! As Oklahoma Attorney General, he has sued the EPA 18 times to fight clean air and water rules. Seventeen of these 18 he joined with fossil fuel companies in suing the EPA. Pruitt has gone to court to fight rules that would save up to 45,000 lives, and avoid hundreds of thousands of asthma attacks and heart attacks every year.. More than 1 in 10 children in Oklahoma have asthma, which is one of highest rates of asthma in United States.

He routinely allies with big polluters to promote prioritize their profits over the health and safety of ordinary people. How could he possibly be qualified to protect our air and water?

Bottom line: he is unfit to serve as the nation’s top environmental steward. We only need 3 senators to swing their votes the right way to stop him! CALL RIGHT NOW.

No matter where you live, call your senator and tell them to oppose Scott Pruitt’s confirmation as EPA Administrator: (202) 224-3121
You can use this tool to quickly find your senator and click to call them: http://on.nrdc.org/2kkFfOL

And if you live in one of the following states, it is particularly important to call these senators:
Sen. Joe Donnelly (Indiana) 202-224-4814                             wp-image-1471591845jpeg.jpeg
Sen. Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota) 202-224-2043
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) 202-224-2523
Sen. Dean Heller (Nevada) 202- 224-6244
Sen. Jeff Flake (Arizona) (202) 224-4521
Sen. Rob Portman (Ohio) (202) 224-3353
Sen. Lamar Alexander (Tennessee) (202) 224-4944
Sen. Joe Manchin (West Virginia) (202) 224-3954

 

Use Writing to Make the World Better!

“Imagine a world where humankind lives in harmony, not only with itself but also with other forms of life, in balance with the planet’s resources. Imagine the world as you would like it to be.” Steve Wilbers

Imagine clean water and clean air
Imagine clean water and clean air

Writing coach, Steve Wilbers is imagining the world as he would like it to be.  Can you imagine how powerful it would be if everyone held a vision of kindness, and imagined a world of kindness.  Powerful!

His suggestions are timely: Write a thank you note, blog, write a letter to a newspaper. Read his article here.  Write about your passions, your images of how the world should be. Speak out, write, and make the world a better place!


 “You may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you’ll join us
And the world will be as one”
Imagine, John Lennon

 

Protecting our Waterways

Keep our lakes and rivers clean
Keep our lakes and rivers clean

The leaves are falling, and it is raking season.  What does this have to do with water quality?

The substances that turn our lakes and rivers green each summer come from our lawns and yards. We think of leaves as waste, but to a lake they are food. The algae in lakes love leaves, and when we feed lakes too many leaves, algal blooms turn our lakes and rivers green and smelly. Protecting water is everyone’s job What can you do? Simple–remember the land/water connection! What we do to the land we do to the water. Clean your streets when the leaves fall from the trees, and when you mow the grass clean your streets, also. Keep our lakes and rivers clean.

My Take On Regulations

Do we want lakes that look like this?
Do we want lakes that look like this?

“I’m going to slash government regulations!”  Candidates for office

Who is their audience for this absurdity?

This is my simple take on a very complex issue.

999922_619252368141411_1083645899_n (1)Many candidates for office talk about cutting regulations.  What are they talking about?  Why doesn’t the media ask them what regulations they want to cut? One presidential candidate wants to cut food regulations?  Cut the Food and Drug Administration rules that govern food production, cleanliness, food packaging and temperature? Ridiculous!

Do we really want less regulation on financial institutions? What have we learned from Wells Fargo? Should we allow banks to cheat their customers like Wells Fargo did?  I had a problem with U.S. Bank selling my credit card number to a health club. It took months to get my money back after unauthorized charges were placed on my credit card. Banks need to be regulated!

David Brooks has said, that capitalism without  a moral compass is a failure.  As evidenced by this presidential race, we have lost our moral compass.  Capitalism/for-profit businesses should NOT be deciding what standards they want to follow. Does it work to let corporations set their own rules about polluting our water and dirting up our air when profit is a top priority? What do you think?

Regulations and standards are to keep the public safe.  Sometimes rules seem extreme, but they keep us safer regulating our workplaces, food, many products, and other necessary things.

Self regulation does not work.  Farmers in the United States were given a pass in the Clean Water Act.  They think they can regulate themselves.  Is that why the corn and soy bean belt in the United States has dangerous nitrate levels in their drinking water? Business and Republicans think regulations are too expensive.  But communities, such as Des Moines, with polluted water pay enormous amounts of taxpayer money to clean their water.  Smaller communities often must drink and use this dangerous water.

This is a wonderful story of farmers regulating themselves and trying new things to protect our water resources. Read it here.

Then there is the drug industry.  Is there anyone that thinks their self-regulation and monopolies are working? MORE regulation is needed of the drug industry!!

It is less expensive to keep from polluting our air and water in the first place, but of course business doesn’t have to pay for the pollution and sick people they create.  Five million people die from air pollution every year.

Never vote for a candidate who promises to cut regulations. They can’t be trusted with the health of people or the earth.  They are not for what is good for our children, wildlife nor for the good of human beings on this planet!  In the long run clean-up is more expensive than doing the right thing in the first place.

Clean Air Act

http://time.com/4219575/air-pollution-deaths/

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