Random Thoughts

The Population Time Bomb--The 2 Child Trap.

2010-03-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

The underlying problem of aging population is a UNIVERSAL TIME BOMB. Currently we have an ideal model of >2 children per couple(less than the actual replacement level of 2.1 children per couple) and that seems like the way to reduce population but that model has some huge problems over a period of 60-80 years.

The Experiment:

Take a group of 100 couples and place them in a controlled place, give them moderate medical care and then enforce a policy of a maximum of 2 children per family, no exceptions--encourage people to have less children, if they choose. Average age is 20 years old.

In 5 years, you would have about 398 people (1 or 2 people would die from natural causes) Worker ratio would be 51% workers to 49% dependents. Think of this period as the US from 1930-1950. Accumulated resources are scarce and people work hard to build infrastructure. Average age is 15 years old-medical costs are the lowest possible.

In 20 years, (third generation) you would have about 588 people(a few more natural deaths+people who never have children). Worker ratio would be nearly 66% workers to 34% dependents. Think of this period as the US from 1950-1970. Most people are working and everyone is prospering. Average age is 22-medical costs are low.

In 40 years(fourth generation) you would have about 768 people, worker ration is at it's highest peak with 76% of the population able to work and 24% dependents. This would be the US between 1980 and 2000. Most people are still working, but many are losing work time to illnesses as the first generation approaches 60 years old, medical costs begin to rise and the first generation looks forward to retirement. More resources are diverted to making retirement possible and comfortable. Average age is rising now at 31 years old and 25% are near 60- medical care cost rise sharply.

In 60 years(fifth generation) you have about 950 people. Worker ratio begins to drop sharply as people retire-59% worker ratio to 31% dependents. 20% of the population is approaching 80 years old, another 20% are age 60, and medical cost rise dramatically. Healthy living combined with moderate medical care means half of the people who survive to 65 years old are expected to live to 88. This is the age we live in now as the Baby Boomers head into retirement. Stress begins to build in the workers and many choose solitude over community. The birthrate plummets--more workers are watching their future sucked away by excessive taxes and limited opportunity. As many as 25% will take this option and stay single for most, if not all of their lives.

During the next 20 years the population(sixth generation) is around 950(birthrates are not keeping up with replacement) and another 190 people enter retirement age. Worker ratio drops to 53% with 47% dependents. Medical care has risen to all time highs and will stay at this level indefinitely. Quality of life has returned to post-depression years as more and more resources are diverted to medical care. By 2050, retirees will be over 21% of our population. Increased taxes and rising costs of health care have caused many to limited retirement savings--today the average American, age 50, has less than $60,000 in retirement savings--about 2 years worth, barring any increased medical care needs. Compare that $60,000 to the cost of cancer treatment at around $120,000 or a heart by-pass surgery at around $150,000, and you can clearly see how inadequate that amount of savings really is.

At the sixth generation the pattern becomes nearly stable with about 50% of people working, and 50% of the population as dependents. Average age approaches 40 years old. Each worker is required to pay for the care and medical costs of another person besides themselves. Attempts to make the population healthier and productive for a longer period of time will result in a larger, older population. Constant stress of obligations may cause women to put off having children leading to higher incidence of genetic health problems and over all lower fertility. From this point on, 50% of the effort and productivity of the group will be used to care for the elderly and 20% of the population will be directly involved with care for the elderly as Doctors, Nurses, and in manufacturing products needed by the elderly. Many of these Geriatric Care Providers will be locked into dead-end jobs at less than 50% of the US average income.(1), (2), (3)

Consider these facts when reading news about longer lifespans, new cures, and population control. In reality, every child born today will be the basis for support of the elderly in the future. Cutting population growth without limiting lifespan or imposing delayed retirement will mean that an ever larger part of the population will have to work to support the elderly.

In a "1 Child" scenario, the outcome is drastically worse, especially at the Third or Fourth Generation when the system reaches near equilibrium --each working person is responsible for the care of up to 4.5 non-working people (4 parents and grandparents and 1/2 child) and a married couple will be tasked with the care of an average of 11 people, including themselves. And, once that level is reached, the situation stays that way as the overall population halves each generation. The only foreseeable way out is to spread the load over a greater number of young, productive workers while limiting life-extending practices. Unfortunately, at this point, it becomes too expensive to have more children and the average birthrate continues to drop until societies are forced to pay women to have children.

Lower birthrates are not going to benefit the human race as long as we insist on making longer lifespans the only ideal worth pursuing. As gloomy as this experiment looks, it is actually much better than the actual numbers projected by most authorities on aging including the World Health Organization, which foresees a much darker future that includes more reliance on slavery(1), (2), (3), and child labor(1), (2), (3) to make up the work force of the coming years. The more workers that are diverted to caring for the aging population, the more societies will rely on children to take over the tasks of food production, especially for goods that are labor intensive such as chocolate, cotton and coffee, as well as low-level manufacturing and assembly jobs. As the population growth slows, the demand for slaves and children to fill these roles will soar and kidnapping for slave trafficking will become common place. All under supervised children and unattached adults may be subject to the influences of the slave trade. Many legal jobs already have such low wages that the workers become virtual slaves, even traditionally well paid jobs will no longer pay enough to repay the cost of education.

Recent efforts by Western Nations to stop child labor have actually backfired in that Third World employers who are caught with child laborers have dismissed or even killed child employees to cover up their crimes. Children dismissed from these jobs are considered unsuitable for other employment and resort to prostitution or begging. Many younger children, primarily girls, simply starve to death in the absence of a simple labor job-they are never reintegrated with their families. (UniCef)

The future is coming and we have already borrowed so much against it that there will be little, if anything left for our children or grandchildren. This current generation's greed for leisure, comfort and long life is dooming all the children that will follow into a life of servitude to support the people who have outlived their ability or inclination to contribute to society.

Recycle Fabric to Save Bucks!

2010-03-17T12:49:00.000-07:00

Re: How do I recycle clothing?

1) Cleaning rags. Use the soft items to make into cleaning clothes. I make mine about 12x12 and stuff them into a bag to keep them neat. I also moved my paper towel dispenser to the inside of the cabinet where I keep the rags. This reminds me to use the rags instead of paper towels whenever possible.

2) Save the seams and sew them into a long strip. Then crochet or knit the strips into rag rugs. You can use polyester scraps but try to keep the cotton at least 75% of the rug so it is absorbent.

3) Cut old jeans and make shopping bags, car seat covers, furniture throws and pet beds. These sell very well at Farmer's Markets and Street Fairs.

4) Cut down on kitchen cleaning by covering all your counter top appliances with individual "cozies". When the covers look dingy, toss them in the wash.

5) Cotton prints make beautiful patchwork quilts. Make the quilt in 2x2 foot blocks and work on them while watching TV or during waiting time.

6) Use fabric blocks to sew book covers in assorted sizes to protect books from spills and hand oils. Even paperbacks benefit from having a book cover while you are reading it.

7) Use bright scraps to add embellishments to other clothing. Add a tiny faux pocket to a plain sweater or a bright red collar to a black shirt. Add fancy patches to jeans to cover stains!

8) Sew funny teeshirts into pillows for the floor or sofa.

9) Recycle lacy lingerie into sachets stuffed with potpourri to keep linen closets and drawers smelling nice.

10) Keep a bag of rags in your car in case you have to change a tire or need a little traction in the snow.

11) Make your own hot pads, trivets and oven mitts from scraps.

-Vic in Seattle

How Much Does It Cost 2009

2009-10-19T07:11:00.000-07:00

Take a stroll through WalMart or a Dollar Store and look at all the tons of cheap consumer goods available. Cheap toys, cheap clothes, cheap kitchen wares and cheap electronics. How can anyone produce a snow globe and sell it for $1.00? How can anyone produce an AM/FM radio for $4.99 or a DVD player for $29.00?? The reason these goods can get to the store at such low prices is by practice of "Externalizing Costs". Companies move their manufacturing to Third World countries to take advantage of cheap labor and lax manufacturing rules.

For example, if your company produces a product that causes large amounts of dioxin to be released as part of it's process then it is much cheaper to move to a country that allows the dioxin to be released freely than it would be to work in a country that demands that the dioxin be recovered and processes to limit toxicity. This is why most plastics used in electronics are created and molded in Mexico, China and India.

If your company want to sell cheap handmade quilts or rugs, then you set up your manufacturing plant in a country that has a labor force available with no governmental demands of real wages or worker safety. Pakistan and Turkey have been perfect for this because orphanages in these countries are overcrowded and so underfunded that they have become self supporting private businesses. Orphans have no protection under the law and can be made to work long hours for food and shelter only.

Next time you run out to WalMart to get cheap stuff, ask yourself how much it really costs.

7 Real Costs that are not included in the Price of Consumer Goods.

1) Pollution at the site of the materials origin. Water, air and ground pollution as a direct result of mining and plastics manufacturing and refining. Thousands of families are exposed to toxic levels of lead.(2)

2) Work force health and safety. Exposure to mutigenic chemicals affect generations of humans exposed to chemical processing without regard to future complications. Underage workers literally worked to death without any legal protection. Workers killed by exposure, heatstroke and neglect. (1)

3) Landfill space and illegal dumping. Manufacturing processes cause huge wastes that must be landfilled for centuries or more commonly, just left where they are dropped.

4) Loss of wildlife habitat in areas surrounding manufacturing centers. Huge swaths of land are lost to pollution surrounding manufacturing plants. In many cases, this land will take hundreds or thousands of years to recover.

5) Immoral Energy Production. Third world manufacturing plants burn plastic waste products to create electricity and heat for use in their manufacturing plants. Tons of waste are pumped into the air without any attempt to clean the smoke.

6) End of cycle disposal. Once a gadget is done being used it must be disposed of and possibly recycled by poorly paid workers who are once again exposed to all kinds of nasty chemicals. (1)

7) Child Labor. Children, ages 5 to 14, are forced into the labor market as cheap labor to do repetitive and toxic jobs shunned by adults. These children are often chained to their work stations and routinely starved until they can't work anymore. Then, they are turned out to die on the street. Many of these children have been stolen from their families but most are sold or rented out by their parents for cash. (1) (2) This isn't confined to 3rd world countries. In the US, children work at dangerous jobs without access to schooling, all to keep prices down.

The Work Habit: Rabbit or Turtle?

2009-10-10T09:37:00.000-07:00

Something that is slowly being lost and may never be recovered: The Work Habit.

We can all think of a person we know who gets up at 5:30 am and gets to their job at 7, works all day, every day. Or, someone we know, starts work at 8pm and works the night shift. How do they do it? How do they avoid the drinking at night that makes them oversleep in the morning or stay clean all day so that they can go to work in the evening? How do they do it everyday, for years?

The answer is The Work Habit. Some people(more in earlier generations than we see now) leave school and go directly to their career. They have had a habit of keeping regular hours for years and they continue that. These people become the backbone of the workforce. Even though they may have less education and tend to be unimaginative, they get promoted because they are dependable. The Work Habit serves them well, in place of the traits that might make them more productive workers(like the rabbit and the turtle). These people are the turtles and they usually win the race.

What has happened in the last generation is that we have favored the rabbits, the academic stars who "have it all". They accumulate a ton of education, get praised for innovation, and excel early in life because their natural tendencies give them an advantage in our dumbed-down education system. Most college classes start at 10am and if one is missed, its no big deal. If they miss too much, they can make it up with "extra credit" done on their own time schedule. Rabbit learn how to game the system but they fail to learn the Work Habit.

After school is done, reality comes to visit: employers expect people to show up on time, everyday. There is no "extra credit" in the workplace. If a person had trouble making it to a 10am class on time, starting work at 7am is going to be very hard. If a person is accustomed to putting off projects until the last minute and then depending on the grading curve, deadlines are going to be very hard to meet. Despite an excellent education, the rabbits fall behind in the real world because they never learned to embrace the basic Habits that make a good worker.

Employers can sort the turtles with the Work Habit from the rabbits that lack the Work Habit and tend to choose the turtles as employees. We see it all the time--young people with great educations who can't get a job.

The signs are always there for the employer to see:

The rabbit shows up last(maybe even a few minutes late), with a cup of coffee--this person chose a stop at the coffee shop over showing up to an appointment early. The turtles showed up for their interviews 10 or even 30 minutes early.

Rabbits have had heavy class schedules and also have huge education debts. Turtles have the minimum requirements, plus internships and have worked all during college. They tend to have much lower debts.

The rabbit has a flashy resume that is heavy on academics but light on experience and recommendations. The turtle has an industry standard resume that exactly meets the expectations of the interviewer and is heavy on experience and recommendations.

The rabbit knows the industry he is interviewing for and can impress the interviewer with past projects and accomplishments. The turtle knows the company he is interviewing for and will impress the interviewer with company-specific information. Rabbits show up for interviews. Turtles prepare for interviews.

The rabbit is time conscious(he may have another interview the same day or other plans after the interview.) The turtle devotes all of his attention to the interview as if he knows he will be hired.

After the interview, the rabbit moves on to his next interview. The turtle follows up(maybe 2 or 3 times) and knows who to talk to when he calls to check on the hiring process. The turtle may even continue to follow up even after the job is filled to try for the next opening with the company or in case the first hire doesn't work out.

Rabbits jump from interview to interview. Turtles get hired.

All of the things that make the Rabbit excel in school; being faster, being smarter and being able to change directions on the run, fail in real life.

All of the things that help the Turtle finish school; showing up on time, every time, finishing projects, following through with plans, and planning ahead, favor the turtle in real life.

Show me a recent grad who has had 10 interviews and no offers--Rabbit. This is also the person who, while being unemployed, stays up late, gets up late and has no direction other than showing up for interviews. This person doesn't even attempt to create a Work Habit to help him be a better employee.

Show me a recent grad who had 3 interviews and is working--Turtle. This person works at getting a job, gets up at the same time everyday, limits late nights, volunteers while he is waiting to interview and keeps in touch with the people who can get him a job. This person creates and maintains the Work Habit which will make him an excellent employee in the future.

Tips to getting a job

Whole books are written about how to get a job, many of them leave out the basics:

Teach yourself the Work Habit by establishing regular work hours in your life. Get up and go to bed on a regular schedule. Be ready for work during regular work hours. Continue honing your work skills while unemployed.

Research the companies that you want to work for and focus on a few: Refine your goals from, "I want to be a Programmer", to "I want to be a Microsoft Programmer." Hone your resume to appeal to the company you want to work for.

Refocus your resume to address the company you interview with.
Learn about the company before the interview.
Show up early, ready to work.
Wear clothes that are appropriate to work in, as if you will start working directly after the interview.
Do not schedule any other appointment for the day of the interview.
Do not look at the clock like you have someplace better to be in 5 minutes.
Leave your phone at home, in the car or turn it off as soon as you enter the place you will have the interview.
Bring only what you need for the interview, no coffee, no toys, no other distractions.
If you don't really want to work for the company, don't schedule an interview and waste the interviewer's time.
Follow up within 24 hours of the interview.
When it is apparent that someone else got the job, inquire about internships and other job openings within the company.

Sew Frugal--Having a sewing machine on hand can save big bucks! Tips to Buying a Cheap Used Sewing Machine.

2009-09-25T15:08:00.000-07:00

A sewing machine is quietly reappearing in American homes as frugal folks try to stretch more use out of their clothing as well as tackle craft projects rather than forking out more money for home decor. New machines cost $150 or more and may be more of an investment than you are willing to make on an item you will need to learn to use. One alternative is to find a serviceable used machine. Used sewing machines seem to be everywhere but getting one that will actually work may be a little tougher. I recently replaced my 2005 EuroPro machine with a 1965 Brother Sewing Machine and as far as these machines go, I couldn't be happier!

First of all decide what you would like to be able to do.

Making repairs or altering clothing, or making simple home items like curtains really only requires a "zig-zag" sewing machine. These have been available since around the time of Moses and are the most common used machine available. Machines built prior to 1980 =/- are usually less complicated and tougher. This is what prompted me to replace my new machine with an older one. 3 layers of denim brought my EuroPro to a permanent stand-still, but my 1965 Brother will sew right through the seam on a pair of jeans with ease. On the other hand, the Brother absolutely hates fleece and sheer materials--the thread gets all bunched up and makes a nasty mess but the EuroPro had no problem with those materials(before I tried to use it on the denim--it doesn't sew at all now.)

Making clothing or baby clothes from scratch is possible on a "zig-zag" machine but the additional "free arm" option will make it much easier to get cloth in the right position under the needle. A "free arm" machine has a narrow base under the needle to accommodate sewing around a sleeve. Machines without this feature are called "flat bed" sewing machines. In general, flat-bed machines will be tougher, but free arm machines will be more versatile.

Another type of machine that is a time saver for making clothing is a serger. There are not many of these in the used market but they can be found used at reasonable prices at a Sewing and Vacuum Store or by watching craigslist or similar "for-sale" ads. These machines are much more complicated than 2 thread machines. Either buy one through a shop or make sure it is in perfect working order before you buy it--do not be afraid to ask the seller to show that it is working.

What to look for when buying a used sewing machine:

Mileage doesn't matter much on a sewing machine but respect and care matter a lot. When you look at a used sewing machine look for signs that it has been taken care of. Surface dirt is not a big deal but any signs of rust is a deal breaker. Open the side cover and look at the needle arm--there should be no rust any where.

Turn the hand wheel on the right side. It should move smoothly. If it feels rough or clicks at all as it turns, forget that machine.

Look at what is included with the machine: there should be at least 1 box of accessories and a users manual. Individual presser feet, light bulbs, a tiny bottle of oil, 2 screw drivers, and other parts should be in the box. Owners who take care of their machines with keep this stuff with the machine and it is a good sign that the machine has been taken care of. Be wary of buying a machine that is missing the accessories--plus the spare feet to make button holes and to turn a nice hem are expensive--$5-$50 each--not having them is going to get costly when you need them.

Plug in the machine and turn it on. The light should work--if not, be cautious. I have never had a light burn out, usually the only way to damage one is by dropping the machine.

Try out the power foot pedal--if the machine responds smoothly and has met the other criteria, it is probably going to be a good machine.

To give an idea of how cheaply you can buy a servicable machine: I bought my Brother in a cabinet, with 2 boxes of original accessories and a dozen extra bobbins for $15.00.

Advice to people who may be new to sewing:

Read the book. Take your time. Oil the machine according to the guide in the book. Try a couple of little projects(potholders are a good start!)

Find your local Sewing Machine Service Center and get your machine tuned up if needed. Every fabric & crafts store will be able to tell you who fixes and maintains sewing machines in your area.

Is it worth it to use a sewing machine? Generally, yes.

Hem pants at home or pay $8.00 to have it done.

Sew diapers at home for a buck or two each or buy premade cloth diapers for up to $20 each.

Make a potholder for $0 or buy a new one for $5.

Once you get used to having a sewing machine around, you really won't know how you got by without one.

BTW, if you ever have to give a wedding gift or shower gift, a sewing machine will knock their socks off!

Frugal Halloween Costumes Start With Sweats & Tees!

2009-09-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

There are many commercial costumes available at the local stores, however between the cost, and lack of imagination, and the fact you end up with a half dozen kids all looking the same at a party. Nothing beats homemade. Below is some basic ideas for you to play with. All are cheap, easy, and allow for tons of imagination.

Frugal Plan Ahead TIP: Use new or old sweat clothes or tee shirts with contact paper decorations Plain white contact paper can be decorated to the theme or use colored contact paper. After the event, peel off the contact paper. No Mess and No Damage.

Price Is Right Contestant: Paste some white numbers to a rectangle of green cardboard and add a strap to hang it around your neck. Add a paper name tag and act really excited to be playing!

Alvin(of the Chipmunks): Pin a big yellow "A" to the front of a huge red sweatshirt. Add a red baseball cap and sing loud and bad!

Star Trek Red-Shirt Guy: Use a red sweat shirt with black tape to make the classic designs. A little foil and a safety pin for a communicator badge and be sure to disappear from the action after the first scene!

The old stand by a Ghost: Grab a old white sheet, cut out the eyes. Be sure its is short enough not to trip you. Take scrap piece of sheet, and sew up a simple treat bag.

Why be the same old plain ghost? A ghost going out in public might like to get dressed up a little. Use the same old white sheet, cut out holes for the eyes and a small slit for the mouth. Then dress it up a little. Put eye shadow and lashes around the eyes. Lipstick for the mouth. Put a little color on the cheeks. How about earrings and a necklace ? You could color in a beard or mustache. Use something besides just a white sheet to be a little more fancy

Clown: Sweat clothes that are too large. Decorate by using either fabric paint, or markers or use contact paper for colors that are removable. For those who dare try tie-die. Tack on some large pop-poms, add a cheap wig, hat, and make-up. You may also stuff the extra space in clothing with tissue. However this could be messy, if you need to make a "pit-stop".

Scarecrow: Over sized flannel shirt, faded blue jeans with patches, rope for belt and to tie at the cuffs of his jeans and sleeves, stuff the shirt and jeans with plastic grocery, or paper, a little bit of straw (or shredded brown plastic bags) to hang out of jeans and shirt. Add a little bit of make-up.

The American tourist: Guys loud Hawaii shirt, shorts (if weather permits), Large straw hat. Gals bright loud dress, flats, big sun hat, straw bag. Don't forget to have a camera, and maps hanging out, and that look of being lost. Guys can use a tourist bag, (like you get from travel agents, and gals can use the straw bag for their treats.

1960s Hippy: This one is hard, after all its all back in style! What is real, and what is costume? ;-) Tie die clothing, long wig (in the old days we called a "fall", sandals, headband, anything with fringe on it (vests, purse...) light colored sun glasses. Add an overwhellming amount of patchuly oil or sandlewood oil, if you dare!

Old man: Dark pants (cuffed), and jacket, most any dress shirt, man's flannel hat, walking cane. Gray the hair, with any of the commercial temporary colors, or dust with a little flour.

Old woman: Old style dress, just below knee, knee-hi stockings rolled down a little, oxfords, large black purse.

Your chance to be a real nerd. Slick back the hair, grab some pants that are too short, white shirt, white socks, penny loafers, or lace up oxfords, pocket protector, with lots of pens, dark rim glasses (don't forget to tape the corner, or at least paper clip it) briefcase, or backpack for treat bag.

Japanese Doll: My daughter won with this costume! Her face was painted white, she had red rosy cheeks all shaped in a circle, Hair in buns, thong slippers, and a kimono(chinese dress)

Miss. America: Use a old bridesmaid dress of formal, add a pair of gloves, a tiara, some oversized jewelry, and heals. For the banner, a piece of wide ribbon, and write "Miss. America" in glitter.

Soda pop can: Use a round barrel, cut a hole in the bottom. You cut holes for arms and your head. Paint it the colors of a pop can. Presto! You have a pop can!!!

Static Cling: Wear anything a solid color is good all white or all black. With safety
pins pin anything to yourself i:e: socks, underware, bounce sheets, etc. You can also spray your hair straight up in the air. From: Maria

1950’s “Sock-Hopper”: It’s quite simple, just a round skirt, a white short-sleeved shirt, and some saddle shoes. (If you don’t have saddle shoes, plain buckle shoes are fine.) You could add some cat-eye glasses if you want. Tie their hair in a ponytail, and wrap a scarf around it.

Mummy: Wrap yourself in white bandages (rolls of gauze) Use splotches of green paint for "mold". Use white make-up on face with "age lines" drawn on. The stiff-legged gait works perfectly. Quasimodo the Hunchback of Notre Dame: Build the "hunchback" out of foam or cardboard. Find an old coat several sizes too large to accomodate this. Old, ratty clothes are great! Wear a snaggly wig and keep putting hand up to ear and muttering "eh?".

Pirate: Form a fake wooden leg by wrapping one leg in brown felt. Wear sailor pants or jeans with a striped top. Tie a bandana around your head, wear an eye patch, carry an empty bottle marked XXX (for the "rum") and mutter "aargh" a lot. Ask for "Trick or treat, matey!"

Crash test dummy - After! There is a commercial costume for this, but a good one can be made with sweats and tape to make the markings on it like the crash test dummies. Use bandages and fake blood to decorate. Fashion a seat belt out of webbing and an old buckle and pin in place. (or go to a junk yard as ask for an old seatbelt).

Train Engineer: A pair of blue jeans, a blue Jean jacket, a red and black bandana. a blue and white engineer hat, a whistle, and play lantern

Mother Nature: Silk flowers and silk plant leaves in a variety of shapes and colours an old skirt and vest, a face mask, twigs (collected from your nearby park or in your own backyard) to make a nest, a foam bird that you can find at any craft store, glue gun and wire or pins. Decorate the vest & skirt with the silk leaves in a random pattern and glue into place. Decorate the skirt with flowers growing out from the leaves already put in place. Use the remaining leaves and small flowers to decorate the face mask. Gather your twigs and secure with wire to make a nest. Place your bird on the twigs and secure into place with the wire. You can add some leaves and peat moss as a filler. The child can wear a dark colored turtleneck and leggings under the vest and skirt for the evening walk to get treats.

Skunk: Black sweats with a white strip of tape or contact paper down the back.. be careful everyone may run!

Bunny: Pink, brown, or white sweats, add a powder puff or large pom-pom to the backside, and a set of ears make from construction paper and a plastic headband. Now just hop on out and enjoy.

Turtle: Green with a piece of poster board attached to the back. Simple cut the poster board into a large oval, make random marks like a turtle shell, and paint.

Puppy: Brown, tan or white, either paint, or pin paper spots on. Make floppy ears and bobby pin to hair over your ears. The tale can be most anything, depending on what type of doggie you wish to be. Add a little make-up.

Kitten: Gold, brown, tan, white. Make ears from construction paper, attach to head band or bobby pin in to hair. Sew a simple round tale, and pin on.

Spider: Black, For the legs grab some cheap black hose, stuff with any thing dark and light weight. Either sew, or staple to keep stuffing from falling out. Pin to clothing, add a little make-up

Lady Bug: Use a pair of black sweats and black sweat shirt (and a pair of black shoes). Use a large piece of poster board or cardboard and cut out a large oval. Paint it red with black dots. Staple black elastic pieces (in a loop) onto the board to make arm holes. For the antenna attatch craft pipe cleaners with black pom poms on the ends to a headband.

Snowman: Use white sweats and pompoms for the coal. Add some makeup and a top hat. Use orange construction paper to make a carrot cone for a nose-just roll up the paper, trim and staple on some elastic to hold it in place. Don't forget the scarf!

Cereal Killer: Attach little cereal boxes to a shirt, cut a slit in the boxes, glue in plastic knives into the holes, drip red paint running down from the knife hole in the box.

Black Eye Pea: When I was younger, a teacher from my elementary school dressed up as a "black eyed pea" and it was so cute, my mother dressed me up the same way the next year. It is simple and cheap. Wearing all white, with black tennis shoes, I cut out the letter 'P' from black construction paper and pinned the P's all over the white outfit. I painted a black spot over one eye ("black eye" ... get it? :) hee hee) and I was a "black-eyed 'P' "

Butterfly: Put on black sweats and black shoes. Use a piece of poster board and paint wanted color cut them out in an appropriate wing shape. punch two holes toward the edges of the wings. put black ribbon through them and tie around waist. attach pipe cleaners and pompoms to a plastic head band.

Rubics cube: Using a large card board box and five different colors of contact paper or construction paper (contact paper is easier to stick on) enough to do 5 sides, black pants and long sleeve shirt. this was done very inexpensively and we had a lot of fun with it.

Dice: Grab a friend and take 2 cardboard boxes, paint them white. Cut out several black circles (From construction paper) and glue them in the appropriate places to make you and your friend a pair of dice!

Time to get ready for Winter!

2009-09-17T21:02:00.000-07:00

Whether we like it or not, Winter is on the way here in Seattle, which means cool temperatures and wet conditions.

Some things we are doing to get ready:

Wrapping the Hot Water Tank--even though ours is in an enclosed laundry room, we can still save a little by wrapping it up.

Trading out the summer/winter clothes. Make sure everything is clean before packing it up, and get rid of the stuff that is worn out so you don't have to deal with it again in the spring.

I do a lot of knitting and quilting in the winter(Keeps your lap and legs warm!) so anything that is worn out will get added to the scrap bag. Even stained clothes make great rugs when cut into strips.

I am also making Snuggies for the whole family this year. Yes, they are silly and the commercials for these things are ridiculous but the concept is pretty smart. I have a few old fleece blankets so I plan to make these pretty much for free. The Pattern is very easy too!

We installed a Programmable Thermostat last fall and I dug out the paperwork and re-programmed it 2 degrees cooler than it was last year. We are also putting up Window Quilts this year to cut down on the drafts. We have a 6 room apartment but we only heat the living room and bathroom, so I hang drapes in the doorways to keep the heat where we want it. The other rooms are kept at 55 degrees.

We have hardwood floors, so I am also pulling the rugs out of storage. We only use them in the late fall and winter and they are all washable. When the weather turns nice in the spring, they all get washed, and line dried before returning them to storage. My rugs are nearly all handmade--done in past winters out of scraps and rags--it is amazing how many memories are sewn into these simple floor coverings; cotton onesies that were outgrown and worn out, tee shirts from places and events I attended, my college sweatshirt, the shredded seat covers from my first car--sheesh! One comment I will make about rag rugs made on a loom like many of mine are--skip the crappy cotton warp thread--string technology has come a long way since our ancestors started making rag rugs! I use Nylon Twine for my rugs. This product is meant for salt water fishing net and will last longer than the cloth rags! One $10 roll is enough twine to make a rag rug 4 feet wide and 43 feet long--do not skimp in the basics or you will be sorry!

Check and re-check the Emergency Supplies. I have used up most of the Emergency Food I stored last fall(Rotated to keep it fresh) and now it's time to re-stock. I put 48 meals worth of easy food and 10 gallons of water all in one place with flashlights, candles, matches, and all the other supplies we might need if the power is off for more than a day. I have 2 portable gas stoves that I use for Canning Classes, so I only needed to buy a 4 pack of fuel this year. Note on these types of butane stoves---if you buy one, fire it up when you get home-let it burn for at least 20 minutes and shut it off. Check the fuel can--it should be ice cold. If the can is warm AT ALL--take the stove back and buy a different brand. Keep testing until you find one that keeps the fuel ICE COLD. Many cheap knock-offs are on the market and the results can be devastating when the fuel container overheats.(Graphic Pictures!)

Hot chocolate and Spiced Tea are very popular in our house when the weather is chilly so I make up big batches of homemade mixes to keep these treats easy and frugal.

I will add more tips, for getting ready for Winter, soon!

Frugal Hand Sanitizer!

2009-09-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

Alcohol deemed effective for hand sanitizing.
The CDC and many other Government Agencies are recommending alcohol based hand sanitizers to prevent the spread of the Flu virus. Most hand sanitizers kill bacteria, but only concentrations of 60% or more alcohol kills viruses.

Anyone who has purchased these products(if you can even find them!) know they are expensive! Like many other products, most of the cost is for advertising, bottling and shipping.

Purell $4.49/8 ounces 56 cents/ounce

Germ-X $4.49/8 ounces 56 cents per ounce

Germ-X pocket size $2.29/2.5 ounces 91 cents per ounce

Since those extra costs are not going to get your hands cleaner--skip them and make your own Sanitizing Hand Cleaner--refill the old bottles and save some big bucks!

These products all have the base ingredient: denatured or "rubbing" alcohol. The formula for this type of alcohol is dictated by the Federal Government so every source of this type of alcohol is the same--buy the cheapest you can find!

So far, the cheapest source I have found for denatured alcohol is at the hardware store in the paint thinner department. My local Lowe's Hardware has it for $6.69 per quart or $15.28 per gallon and it is 90% alcohol(with exactly the same methanol and acetone added as you would find in the pharmacy as "rubbing alcohol" except that rubbing alcohol is typically 70% alcohol and has water added to bring it down to that concentration.

Inexpensive Alcohol Based Sanitizer
makes 12 oz.@ 63.25% alcohol for about 8-13 cents per ounce.

1/2 cup cool water
1 cup denatured alcohol (90%) Available at hardware stores as a paint stripper.
10 drops fragrance oil - optional
1 drop food coloring - optional
Vitamin E oil, green tea extract, tea tree oil, etc. - optional.

Combine ingredients and stir. Store in a spray pump bottle. Will last indefinitely.

Household Bleach is the Best Virus Killer
Store-brand chlorine bleach can be used as a disinfectant by mixing 1/4-cup chlorine bleach with 1 gallon of cool water. --Ratio of 1:64 . Bleach has been found to be the best civilian sanitizer and is a very common base for antibiotic cleaners in Third World Countries because it is very, very cheap. To extrapolate this into a homemade hand sanitizer we can start with a bottle of inexpensive hand lotion and add bleach to it.

Bleach Based Hand Sanitizer

Dump the contents of a bottle of hand lotion into a mixing bowl, add bleach, mix well and return to the bottle. Be sure to mark the bottle "With Bleach Added: 1:64"

Bottle size --------- Amount of Bleach to Add
8 ounce --------------3/4 Teaspoon
16 ounce ------------1/4 ounce (1 1/2 Teaspoon)
32 ounce ------------1/2 ounce (1 Tablespoons)

Extra benefit: This small amount of bleach will leave your hands very clean and make your nails super white!

Some people are pretty allergic to chlorine bleach and they should go with the alcohol based sanitizer instead, but for sheer virus killing properties, bleach is always the best product for the job.

11 Real Jobs You Can Start From Scratch With Little Investment

2009-08-07T12:28:00.000-07:00

1) Child daycare. Each child you care for should amount to about $200 per week in income depending on where you live. In Washington we can care for up to 6 kids at a time--$1200 a week is nothing to sneeze at!

2) Doggy Daycare & Walking. Here in Seattle, people pay nearly as much to drop off their dogs for the day as they do their kids. What's really weird tho is that childcare workers make minimum wage-$7.75 per hour. Doggy Daycare workers and dog walkers make $15.00 per hour! Another facet of this idea came to my attention: Sick pet care--a lot people have pets that have been sick or had surgery and need to be watched during the day. Most pets really hate being left at the vet so pet owners are willing to pay $50-$75 a day to drop off a pet with someone who will take care of them through the day in a quiet & private setting. Toss an old blanket over the sofa for a comfortable spot and walk as needed. Sanitize everything between visitors. Advertise the service with all your local vet's offices.

3) Sewing and mending services. People pay $5-7.00 to replace a jeans zipper and $6-10.00 to hem a pair of pants. A custom prom dress runs $200 and up.

4) Have bake sales. Cook up a bunch of goodies and then have a combo garage and bake sale. I always make more money on the baked goods than I do on the garage sale but people will not stop to look unless I call it a "Garage Sale." A dozen homemade cookies is $5.00 or more. I have also sold dozens of homemade cook books for $3-$10 apiece!

5) Grow plants and have periodic plant sales. I recently purchased 1 very over grown spider plant at a store and split it up into over 100 small plants. In the spring these will sell for around $2-5 apiece!(Update: I listed these on eBay about a month later and sold all of them to a florist shop for $100+shipping(taking care of 100 houseplants was more work than I planned and I was glad to ship them out!)

6) I do eBay but in a rather unique way. All of the stuff I sell on eBay I get for FREE. Examples are woodland ferns, native plants, Ivy, driftwood, etc. Take a walk with the kids and make it a treasure hunt. Stuff that are weeds and junk to me are exotic to people in New York! I once sold a seal skull(found on the beach) on eBay that stunk so bad I had it buried in the yard during the time of the auction! It sold for $75+ shipping and I wrapped it in 5 layers of garbage bags to mail it!

7) Make jewelry out of beads and wire and put them on consignment at spas and jewelry stores. Copper jewelry is always popular and the materials can be purchased at the recycling center for a couple of bucks a pound. A copper bracelet will sell for $5.00--I can make 20 of them per hour.

8) Learn a skill like desktop publishing or transcription or web design. The more flexible and knowledgeable you get the more jobs you will get.

9) Schedule appointments for a local builder. Many companies need phone people to set up appointments for inspections, construction estimates, etc.

10) Figure out what you love to do and then work out a way to get paid for it. If you love soap operas, find someone to pay you to write about them. If you love crafts, make them and sell them!

Bonus: Look around for a place that can host classes and teach what you are best at. I have taught classes on sewing, home canning, dog grooming, and once taught a class on how to detail your car if you want to sell it.

Good luck!

World's Best Cleaner! Introducing Uni-Solve-D

2009-06-29T12:42:00.000-07:00

Introducing The World's Best Cleaning Product!

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Activate Uni-Solve-D with filtered or distilled water for use at full strength when cleaning the most delicate items: Gentle enough to clean house plants, fish tanks and pets.

Activate Uni-Solve-D with tap water to prepare for tougher cleaning challenges: strong enough to tackle smelly laundry, interior and exterior auto washing, windows, floors, yard furniture and other grimy cleaning projects!

Also ideal for extending your other commercial cleaning products!

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In Memory of Billy Mays RIP 6-27-2009

Canned Food Rip Off--What is the "Recommended Fill Weight"?

2009-04-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

Food Prices are a huge concern for a lot of people right now but how do we know what we are getting? Lately, I have noticed that what is on the can is not really what is in the can!

Letter to Moody Dunbar Food Company:

I recently bought 2 40 ounce(1.13 kg) cans of Dunbar's cut yams at my local Grocery Outlet. I am very disappointed to find out that each can only contained about 750 grams(27 ounces) of product. Is this typical of the product or are the cans I bought underfilled?

product: Cut Yams
Imprint: DJ27C ALD7

Thank you for your time.

VicinSea

Answer from Moody Dunbar:

The 27 ounces you found in each of the two cans is actually a little more than the recommended amount. The attached chart was copied from the US Grade Standards for Canned Sweet potatoes - it shows a recommended fill-weight of 23.8 ounces for the 40 oz. can (referred to in the chart as a #2-1/2 Tall).

40 Ounce Cans Contain 23.8 Ounces? To be fair the nutritional label did say that the can contained 7 1/2 cup servings which would be about 28 ounces but saying 40 Ounces on the Label seems misleading to me and I told the Company that.

Also, this table seems to be a Trade Secret since I can't find similar information for other foods like canned corn or green beans. How much actual corn is in a 15 ounce can of corn?

My Answer:
In that case, shouldn't the label say 23.8 ounces net weight? 40 ounces net weight seems very misleading to me and I have never seen this recommendation table before.

According to Wikipedia: net weight refers to the weight of the product alone, discounting the weight of its container or packaging.

Your can says, "cut sweet potatoes packed in syrup" which I read to mean the product is sweet potatoes and the syrup is packing and not included in the total weight of the product.

This table is rather misleading and makes it impossible to compare the prices of raw vegetables to the price of processed and canned vegetables which I did when I purchased this product.

Sweet potatoes are currently 99 cents per pound at my local store and considering 5% waste, the price per ounce is $.06513. 40 ounces of canned sweet potatoes for $1.79 is a good deal at $.04475 per ounce. but 23.8 ounces for $1.79 at $.07521 per ounce is not a good deal.

The point of shopping at a discount grocer is to get better grocery prices but if the net weight shown on the can doesn't give me any information to compare prices with, then how do I know if I am getting a deal or not?

VicinSea

Final Word From Moody Dunbar Foods:

The term “Net Weight” is a legal term that refers to the total contents by weight of the product in a package. In the case of canned vegetables, the package net weight includes the product and the packing fluid. The weight of the product after the fluid has been drained off is call the “Drained Weight”.

The FDA and the USDA establishes the content and format of the information placed on our canned sweet potato labels. So, the reason our labels look the they way do is because We are required by law to follow the FDA and USDA food labeling laws.

The only company I could find that lists "Drained Weight" is Trader Joes where a 15.25 ounce can of corn contains 8 ounces of drained corn.

So, fellow frugal shoppers, how do we compare prices if the "Net Weight" is meaningless and the "Recommended Fill Weight" is different for each product and seems to be a secret?

Water, Water, Everywhere....

2009-04-18T09:44:00.000-07:00

W A T E R ....

The whole world is facing a shortage of clean water and in western lifestyles, water is a huge key to our comfort level. Consider how advertising has nudged us into lifestyle changes in the last 30 years--very few of these are possible in an area that has a real water shortage:

Showering twice a day--morning and night.

Washing hair anywhere from 5 to 14 times a week forces us to buy conditioners as well as shampoo. Interestingly enough most shampoos are formulated to remove other hair care products like hair gel better than they are formulated to clean natural hair oils.

Hot Tubs, jacuzzis, multiple showerhead stalls--every luxury magazine on the stands shows huge bath tubs to be the epitome of luxury even when the whole world is begging for drinking water.

Washing clothes after every wearing--in an age where the average western worker goes to an air-conditioned office 8 hours a day, is it really necessary to wash clothes after every wearing?

Changing sheets daily or weekly--our basic fear of germs and bugs has been turned into a marketing ploy. This site actually says we need to own 3 sets of sheets for each bed and change our sheets every week. One set was the norm 50 years ago and most people didn't even have their own beds 100 years ago(many still don't!)

Floor cleaning--sweeping daily used to be the norm, now steam cleaning is the "best way" to clean floors? Notice the fear-based language used on the steam cleaning link--asthma & allergies--damp moping would do the same thing for a lot less money and energy.

Toilet Flushing--use 1 1/2-5 gallons of water to flush away 6 ounces of pee? How did that get to be the standard?

HOA mandated lawns and landscaping; Even water starved places in Western countries cling to these outdated home owner association rules! In parts of Australia and in many parts of Arizona, California and Nevada it is an offense to let your lawn get brown even in Cities where watering your lawn is illegal 6 1/2 days a week.

Car Washing has become an obsession and many people visit the carwash more often than they take their kids to parks. Where I live in Seattle it is common to see people leave the food bank and then stop and pay $6.00 for a carwash on the way home.

Pressure Washing Houses--There are over 5100 companies within 10 miles of me that pressure wash houses. Considering that pressure washing can significantly reduce the lifespan of a roof or siding job and the amount of rain we get, this seems like a ridiculous amount of pressure washers to me. Yet, somehow, pressure washing has become a part of regular home maintenance and some of my neighbors can get fined by their HOAs for failing to do it regularly.

All of these things have been transformed into normal activities by advertising and in the future we will see a trend toward the opposite side--less water usage. Products to look for in current advertising and near future advertising:

CURRENT LOW WATER PRODUCTS:

Dual Flush Toilets

Stink-Free underwear

Mist Shower heads

Waterless Car Wash

UPCOMING LOW WATER PRODUCTS:

Swallow Toothpaste-no rinsing(and the advertising will say it is better NOT to rinse)

Compost Toiletries Products(actually seen this one as Pee & Poo bags--use once and then compost instead of flushing. These will be approved for areas that already have curbside compost containers)

Personal Water Filters(instead of bottled water-now being tested in Africa) Look for these in Flavored Versions with or without vitamins.

Sheets and towels with antibacterials built in so that they can be used for long periods of time without being washed.

Laundry detergent with super cleaning and future protection--clothes will still pass the sniff-test after wearing, thus saving money and water.

Dryclean Sonic Washers-already in use in Japan.

Unwashed food at the grocery--new advertising will stress that washing food strips the nutrients out and that food should only be washed right before eating or cooking--this will transfer the cost of washing(and the liability) from the producer to the consumer.

Compostable "Dish Liners" a new name for paper plates that will make dishes reusable between washings. These will be thinner and very cheap so they will seem more desirable than washing dishes every time they are used.

Bowl obscuring toilet products will hide the contents as well as deodorize and kill off all harmful germs. Maybe a dark colored bio-oil that floats above the mess to provide a visual and smell blocking barrier on top of the water.

OLD LOW WATER PRODUCTS BEING REINTRODUCED:

Dry Wash Shampoo-- Powdered product to shake in and brush out.

Scotchgard Fabrics-- stays cleaner and cleans easier

Home Drycleaning kits--new advertising will show that they work just as well for washable clothes as they do for dry-clean only.

No rinse cleaning products-these have been around for decades but new advertising will stress how safe they are to use--no "harmful chemicals".

Astro-Turf yards--no mow & no water but they still conform to most HOA rules.

Plastic and silk flowers are being advertised as "beautiful without all the water and chemicals needed to produce flowers."

Dress Shields save on cleaning costs by shielding the underarm area from sweat--these will be popular for men and women alike.

Nude Gyms--no workout clothes to wash, followed by a dip in a cleansing antibacterial pool where the water is reused indefinitely--this might actually replace daily showers for many people as the idea takes root.

More dehydrated foods--pasta(like ramen noodles) and beans that only need a small amount of water rather than being boiled in larger amounts.

Washer cycling systems that reuse gray water instead of using all clean water. Example: Kitchen faucet overrun will be saved for clothes washing and then used again for flushing(and maybe used again in the home garden).

Side by Side Public Water Systems can replace the potable water systems we now have. Recycled gray water can be piped in for use in washing, flushing and outdoor use while clean water is piped in separately for showering and drinking.

Gaithner is Making Direct Payments To Selected People--Just Supply Your Name, Bank Account, Ect.

2009-03-24T08:48:00.000-07:00

I got this letter from the International Monetary Fund--They want to send me some money!

--- On Tue, 3/24/09, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND <info.optusbb23@optusnet.com.au> wrote:

From: INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
Subject: Release Of Your Payment As Instructed By President Barack Obama
To:
Date: Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 7:10 AM

INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND
(WORLD BANK ASSISTED PROGRAMME)
DIRECTORATE OF INTERNATIONAL
PAYMENT AND TRANSFERS.
700 19TH STREET NEWYORK
WASHINGTON D.C 20431 U.S.A
WIRE TRANSFER/AUDIT UNIT.
Our Ref: IMF/US

IRREVOCABLE RELEASE OF YOUR PAYMENT

We have actually been authorized by the newly appointed President Barack Obama
and the governing body of the INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND to investigate
the unnecessary delay of your inheritance fund/Lottery winnings and contract payment,
recommended and approve in your favor.

Since the inauguration of President Barack Obama, we discovered with dismay that
Your payment has been unnecessarily delayed by corrupt officials of
the Bank(AIG, I Presume.) who are trying to divert your funds into their private
accounts, to forestall this, security for your funds Was organized in
the form of your personal Identification number (PIN)this will enable
only you have direct Control over this fund, we have also agreed with
the WORLD BANK and UNITED NATION ORGANIZATION that we will handle this
payment ourselves to avoid the hopeless situation created by the Officials of the bank.

We obtained an irrevocable payment guarantee on your Payment from the
WORLD BANK and UNITED NATION ORGANIZATION we are happy to inform
you that based on our recommendation/instructions; your Entire Inheritances fund
has been credited in your favor through the above certified means of payment.

You are therefore advice to send your contact details to TIMOTHY GAITHNER Secretary of the
Treasury department, United States:

EMAIL Address: www.undelegate-org@live.com

You will be given an option of payment which you are required to indicate
and also send the following information as stated below to them
as directed above:

1. YOUR FULL NAMES :
2. DIRECT AND SERVICEABLE PHONE NUMBER:
3 FAX NUMBER:
4. FULL CONTACT ADDRESS(P.O BOX NOT ACCEPTABLE):
5. YOUR AGE/SEX
6 CURRENT OCCUPATION:
7.A COPY OF YOUR ID/INTL PASSPORT:
NOTE: YOU ARE ADVICED TO FURNISH TIMOTHY GAITHNER WITH YOUR CORRECT
CONTACT DETAILS.

We expect your urgent response to this email to enable us monitor this
Payment effectively thereby making contact with TIMOTHY GAITHNER, as
Directed to avoid further delay.

CONGRATULATIONS.

TIMOTHY GAITHNER,
SECRETARY TREASURY DEPARTMENT
UNITED STATES, NEW YORK U.S.A

Myths in the 5 Myths of Nuclear Energy Propaganda

2009-03-22T23:41:00.000-07:00

Horror Story Appears in the Washington Post: The 5 "Myths" of Nuclear Energy.

How to read suspected propaganda material:

Propaganda is the dissemination of information aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people. As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense presents information in order to influence its audience.

Some of the techniques include:

Half-truth: For example, Three Mile Island 1 is still working, BUT TMI2 continues to require constant monitoring that will be required for at least another 50 years and will need to be completely sealed for long term storage when TMI1 is decommissioned and retired. The cost of clean up through 1993, for TMI2, was $975 Million Dollars. Current monitoring is included in the operating costs of TMI1.

Oversimplification: For example, *But the problem isn't the material's half-life -- it's the level of radioactivity it possesses.* Yes, carbon 14 is useful, radioactive and harmless, **but no one is using it in nuclear reactors!** Every fuel used in nuclear plants IS DANGEROUS.

Appeal to fear: Saying that nuclear power doesn't cause global warming is an attempt to directly prey on the general fear of climate change with a few mountain decapitations and sludge ponds thrown in for good measure. This argument is based on making the reader more afraid of current energy sources that they are of nuclear power.

Demonizing the enemy: Notice the writer's use of "quasi-religious", relying on the fact that a large number of readers will have negative feelings to that phrase and to the association that environmentalists are "quasi-religious".

Flag-Waving: It's OK that the US has nuclear power and nuclear weapons as long as no other countries try to do it too? If nuclear power is so terrific, we should build a plant every 100 miles all over the world, right?

5 Myths of Nuclear Power was written by Todd Tucker. His new book, Atomic America, discusses a nuclear accident in Idaho in 1961. Today that site has 52 reactors, of which 3 are reported to be working--the other 49 are slated for long-term storage(when that becomes available.) He also served in the Navy on a nuclear submarine.

The Truth about Nuclear Power is:

1) Nuclear Power is EXTREMELY expensive, and no power plants would have ever been built as an energy investment without Governmental Funding for weapons application. Electricity is just a by-product.

2) Nuclear Power uses a LOT of water, and affects the whole ecosystem around it. Down wind areas get more rain and more snow from the water vapor created. The river where the cooling water is taken and returned will be warmed for miles downstream, killing many species and promoting others. Accidental releases of radioactive water has happened many times in the past and will happen in the future. Water taken from a river and exhausted as excess heat is no longer reliable for agriculture--the level and flow of the river will be permanently lowered.

3) Unlike buying and installing a wind turbine or solar plant, the cost of a Nuclear Plant NEVER ENDS. The materials will need to be decommissioned and stored forever--that takes manpower and money. If we change our minds about a solar plant, it can be taken down and moved somewhere else--a Nuclear Plant is going to be a Nuclear Plant forever.

4) All man-made machines are subject to human shortcomings and human mistakes. Just like in the Simpson's--if you have a single idiot in the Plant, mistakes are going to happen and no human is perfect 100% of the time no matter how smart or diligent they are.

ADA's Dirty Secret--Tooth Decay is not only preventable, its curable!

2009-03-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

What causes tooth decay.
Dental cavities are caused by a bacterial infection called Streptococcus mutans. S. mutans is not present at birth but is usually acquired by children in early childhood or infancy, many before tooth eruption.

How we are exposed.
Human beings get infected by the most innocent of sources, the mother's first kisses.
Adults may have a high concentration of S. mutans in their mouths. Bacteria can be transmitted from a parent or another intimate caregiver to an infant or child via saliva, for example, by allowing infants or children to put their fingers in the parent’s mouth and then into their own mouths, testing the temperature of a bottle with the mouth, sharing forks and spoons, and “cleaning” a pacifier or a bottle nipple that has fallen by sucking on it before giving it back to the infant or child.

Even if an infant or child is already infected with S. mutans, transmission can increase the concentration of bacteria in the infant’s or child’s mouth, increasing the likelihood of tooth decay or resulting in more severe decay. Therefore, it is important that parents and other intimate caregivers practice good oral hygiene and avoid behaviors that could transmit S. mutans to an infant or child. (source)

Other problems caused by Streptococcus mutans.
S. mutans is manageable and considered by dentists to be natural when confined to the oral cavity but is a serious infection when the bacteria migrates to any other part of the body. Infection of the heart valve by S. mutans is a life threatening disease that can be initiated by improper procedures at the dentist's office. All people with pre-existing heart valve problems such as mitral valve prolapse are encouraged to take antibiotics such as Amoxicillin or Clindamycin prior to dental work to prevent the S mutans infection from traveling in the bloodstream and affecting the heart. (Guidelines have recently changed, so consult your doctor and/or dentist before getting any dental work done.
People with prosthetic joints may also be recommended to take antibiotic premedication prior to dental work to prevent S. mutans from migrating to the joints and causing or compounding rheumatoid arthritis.

Treatments for Streptococcus mutans infection.
In 1983, I Zickert, C G Emilson, and B Krasse authored a study on "Correlation of level and duration of Streptococcus mutans infection with incidence of dental caries." The study showed "the value of antimicrobial treatment in the prevention of caries."(source)

In 1975, R T Evans, F G Emmings, and R J Genco showed that a vaccine(composed of dead cells) to S. Mutans prevented infection by S. mutans in the oral cavities of monkeys--study has not been reproduced on humans. (source)

Other Citations
http://www.mchoralhealth.org/openwide/mod1_0.htm specializing in "Oral Health Training For Health Professionals"

----------------------------------------
Economics of treatment verses cure.
Dental cary repair represents a large portion of any dentist's business and is the largest portion of any dental office's income. The cost of actually filling a cavity is nearly insignificant compared to the average cost of a visit to the dental office, so there is a strong resistance to changing the way people are treated for tooth decay.
Today, it is common for a patient to be belittled for their failure to brush and floss "enough". There is no specific guideline for how often or how long to brush and floss but "3 times a day" is a typical recommendation. Truth is that no matter how much you brush, as soon as you get a cavity, "you haven't brushed enough", "you haven't flossed enough," or you "haven't done it correctly." Dentists use this argument to put the blame on the patient rather than mentioning the true cause of caries, S. mutans, and how to slow the infection or kill it for good. Why? Because it is not good for the bottom line to tell a patient, "You can prevent future cavities by taking a vaccine or antibiotic and then rinse your mouth with an antibacterial on a regular basis." But, it is very good for the bottom line to blame the patient and then continue to fill cavities with $5.00 worth of materials and charge $250 for the service.
One of the reasons why this has worked out so well for Dentists(who make nearly as much doctors with about half the education and no late night emergency calls) is that when people are having a toothache, they will pay anything they have to make it stop. The ADA also has a very powerful Lobby in Washington DC that has exempted them from price controls on services and exemption from providing emergency medical treatment to anyone who needs it.
----------------------------------------

Slowing the effects of S. Mutans:
Until dentists are willing to prescribe a routine of Amoxicillin or Clindamycin to kill the bacteria at its source or rally behind a vaccine(and effectively kill off 50% or more of their business) there are a few natural products that kill or slow the growth of S. mutans. One of the most effective is peppermint oil which is why so many tooth pastes taste like peppermint--unfortunately most modern toothpastes use artificial flavor so this benefit has been lost.
Other antibacterials:
Licorice contains glycyrrhizin, the power behind cavity prevention. Cavities are a result of lingering bacteria in the mouth- the main condition rooted in bacteria production is delayed and prevented by licorice.
Only 15 milligrams of licorice powder eliminates 99.9 percent of Streptococcus mutans, a common bacterium that could release harmful cavity-causing acids.
Before cavities appear, bacteria in the mouth produce acids that create holes in the top layer of the teeth. Streptococcus mutans is particularly harmful and causes a large percentage of these holes.
Importantly, the extract does not kill the other bacteria in the mouth necessary for good oral health.

Cinnamon EO is antibacterial, anti-fungal, anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiviral and astringent.

Peppermint EO is antibacterial, analgesic, and antiseptic.

Spearmint EO is antibacterial, anti-catarrhal, anti-fungal, anti-inflammatory, and antiseptic.

Citrus EO is antibacterial, anti-depressant, antiseptic, antiviral, astringent, and restorative.

Ginger EO is antibacterial and antiseptic.

Brush to Clean and Kill
Learn how to brush your teeth and kill S. mutans at the same time.

How Home Weatherization Could Save The Economy.

2009-02-07T18:31:00.000-08:00

There are 150,000,000 homes and apartments in the USA and 99% could be retro-fitted to save or even create energy. Obviously, the needs of each dwelling need to be evaluated to put together the best package for the climate. Some possible projects could be:

Water Tank Wrap
Roof Colored to Match Climate(Dark roofs in the north--white roofs in the south)
Ceiling insulation
Wall insulation
Double or Triple Pane Windows
Addition of a Sun Room
Floor Insulation
Update old HVAC systems with more energy efficient models
Replace Oldest Appliances
Replace all light bulbs with CFLs
Update all toilets and faucets to Low-Flow fittings
Add Fireplace Inserts
Replace door gaskets to stop drafts
Educate homeowners on "Peak Usage Times" and install appliance timers where applicable
Addition of solar panels and wind turbines where feasible

The average time spent on each residence would be about 50 hours with an average of $2000 in time and materials--that alone creates millions of man hours in the workforce--the resident could help where practical to keep the costs down.

This idea would create a minimum of 1 million construction jobs for at least 3 years with an average of $20.00 per hour wage. As building starts regain footing, these construction people can be slowly returned to those higher paying jobs.

It would also create another 1-2 million manufacturing jobs in window factories, door factories, plumbing supply factories and dozens of other manufacturing factories. The key to this is really in favoring the local suppliers so that the project employs as many people as possible.

And it would support service jobs as the paychecks started coming in on a regular basis. The paychecks would be spent in restaurants and on consumer goods.

The best part is that the people who live in the houses and apartments can pay for this themselves with the savings on their energy costs. Once the energy package is paid for the savings continue for years.

We don't even need a "Bailout" to do this. All we need is Government Guarantees for the Power Companies to use to dole out retrofits to home and apartment residents in a way that the loan is tied to the power bill of the home, so that if the person moves, the next resident repays the loan with their energy savings. Payments go back to the Power Company and when all the loans are repaid, the Power Companies release the Guarantee. The payments need never exceed the savings, so there would be no burden on the resident only a potential for savings when the loan is repaid in full.

The effect on the power grid and on our carbon footprint would be astronomical! Each house and apartment could cut energy costs by 30-50% if properly updated.

It would be easy to pick out the building in the most need of retrofitting by thermal satellite imaging--start with the worst buildings and work up the list until the USA is invisible on thermal scans!

Please let me know what you think of this idea!

Losing Your Job? Time to Bootstrap!

2009-01-28T16:49:00.000-08:00

"When you get knocked down, just pull yourself back up by your bootstraps."

Bootstrapping, (a specialty sector of Microbusiness that requires very little to get started) has been a part of American Culture since the very beginning. Very few early settlers came to America to get a job with the local equivelent of WalMart. They came, in droves, to start their own farms and businesses, and most did it without loans or great resources. They did it by seeing and recognizing a need and filling that need by the sweat of their brow.

Even if unemployment rates go to 20%, that means that most people still have jobs and they will always need people to do the things that employed people never find time to do-take care of children and pets, landscaping, home repairs and renovations, cook and clean. As long as their are people, some of those people will need sevices and products. The key to Bootstrapping your own microbusiness is to figure out what people in your area need and how you can fill that need.

Setting up a Microbusiness can be the best way to financial security in these uncertain times. It may seem too expensive or just plain impossible to be your own boss but thousands of people make the jump every year. Ideally, a microbusiness is started as a side job in addition to your "real" job but in the case of a layoff, a microbusiness may be the perfect way to plan out a better future while enjoying the cushion offered by unemployent insurance.

Very few people get rich with a microbusiness but you get to work your own hours, most business will be paid in cash and the harder you work, the more you make--which beats working harder so your boss can make more!

A Few Ideas For a Bootstrap Business:

Neighborhood Newsletter/Newspaper. Sell advertising and collect news in a specific area. Distribute copies to that area and offer subscriptions. Profit depends on how many ads you can sell. Startup needs: Computer, printer, software.

Dog walking/Pet sitting. Take care of neighbors pets during the day or over night as needed. Startup needs: Fenced yard, spare room or garage, a few kennels.

Sick Pet Care. If you don't have any space or yard, you can still do sick pet care. People call you when their pet has had surgery or is recovering from illness. Only 1 or 2 pets are cared for at a time. Daily charge is $20-$25 per day or more. Startup needs: Old blanket to toss over the sofa that can be washed between pets. Handout business cards to local pet shops and veterinarians to get started.

In-home child care. Run an ad and offer to babysit. Daily charge is $25 or more per day. Startup needs: A few toys, classified ad.

Parking lot cleanup. Clean small parking lots that are not big enough to call a broom truck. Startup needs: Broom, dust pan, garbage bags.

Garden Hoe. Offer to do minor maintenace on gardens for neighbors, hoe gardens, trim bushes, pick up trash. Startup needs: small hand tools, gloves.

Garden installation. If you are already a vegetable gardener, your neighbors may be eager to have you install a food garden for them.

Sewing and mending. People pay $2.00 to replace a jeans zipper and $4.00 to hem a pair of pants. A custom prom dress runs $200 and up.
Startup needs: sewing machine, sewing supplies, a little skill.

Garage/Bake sales. Cook up a bunch of goodies and then have a combo garage and bake sale. I always make more money on the baked goods than I do on the garage sale but people will not stop to look unless I call it a "Garage Sale." A dozen homemade cookies is $5.00 or more.

Catering. If you have a knack for special foods, sell that skill for parties. If homemade bread is your thing, set up a delivery route to get fresh bread out to paying customers.

Micro Nursery. Divide up your house and yard plants and have periodic sales in your yard. Add bedding plants in the spring and summer.

Calling Agent. Offer to schedule appointments for a local builder. Many companies need phone people to set up appointments for inspections, construction estimates, etc. Charge by the number of calls made or ask for a commission.

Housekeeping. Clean houses or specialize in cleaning up apartments between tenants or new construction cleanup. Startup needs: general cleaning equipment.

Visiting Companion. Visit elderly people in their homes. make a meal or two or help with cleaning up or just sit and play cards and talk. Startup needs: Pass out business cards to doctors offices, senior centers and pharmacies. Find your local senior services group and register with them.

Micro B&B aka Boarding House. Set up a spare bedroom as a guest room and offer get-aways. If you don't want to invest in the nice guest room trinkets, call yourself a Hostel and register on the national Hostel sites. You can get away with 4 bunk beds in a bedroom and the guests tend to clean up after themselves!

Here are some ideas I have found on other sites:

Be a Tutor.

Run a Welcome Wagon

Helpful Links:
http://www.bootstrappingblog.com/
http://sba.gov/
http://www.microbusiness.net/business_ideas/index.php
http://www.yenommarketinginc.com/grow-micro-business.html
Microbusiness Development Centers in the US
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/index.html
http://www.mysmallbiz.com/
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/businessideas/Small_Business_Ideas.htm
http://www.powerhomebiz.com/vol30/topten.htm
http://www.mccrayandassoc.com/downloads/BizIdeaBooklet.pdf
http://www.smallbusinessbrief.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=c6488e448f58af5951dc1e21bb67a66e&f=69

NOTE: I have tried to only list the best home business links. If any of them turn out to be scammer site, PLEASE TELL ME IN COMMENTS. I will remove the link asap. Never, under any circumstances PAY to join a "club" to make money---SCAM!

Have any ideas for a microbusiness that can be started for under $250? Please post them in comments! I would love to see what other people are doing in this nasty job market.

The New Economy-Tailor Your Business to Survive.

2009-01-08T11:03:00.000-08:00

One of the problems with big businesses is that it takes so long for them to change to fit market conditions. The usual big business response to a a failing economy is to cut jobs. That response makes the economy that much worse so the big businesses fall in on each other like so many dominoes. Big businesses waste money on advertising programs that are out of date, pushing luxury items to a consumer base that is cutting corners to survive, again the delay time is the killer for big business. Instead of looking to the future, they are stuck 5 minutes in the past. Instead of leading the way in trends, they are held back by past performance and unrealistic sales goals. This stubborn adherence to the tombstones of past profit margins will be the end of them and really that is a shame considering how well big business can manage large numbers of trained, work-ready, people.

In light of the coming economic changes, I suggest that businesses also change the way they operate.

Heavy manufacturing could switch 1/2 of their workforce over to energy technologies. Let GM build wind turbines. Let Chrysler build solar energy plants. If there isn't a market for the machines, then set up power plants and sell the electricity. Require local power companies to buy percentages of the power at slightly over base cost so that companies can afford to keep building and employing people.

Big Box stores should be focusing on basic durable consumer goods like solar panels, food preservation systems, Do-It-Yourself kits, and support for these products. If I could get a Circuit City credit card to buy a computer or big screen TV--why can't I buy solar panels instead? Why not hydroponics equipment to grow food at my house?

Massive grocery stores can help buy converting all store roof tops into greenhouses. These stores waste a lot of energy in the form of excess heat, so this is a natural way to use the heat one more time.(This goes double for Google's Blade Farms which produce enough heat to supply thousands of homes as well as acres of greenhouses!) Food grown would only need to be transported to the produce department rather than halfway around the world.

Contractors can pull back from building new houses and offer more basic services such as retrofitting existing houses with white roofs and energy efficiency packages--90% of American homes need this service at a reasonable price. In many cases programs already exist to help seniors and low income people buy these improvements for their homes and even for their rental homes.

Landscaping companies can focus on lawn removal and food garden installation. Help people start gardens and offer reasonably priced consultation. The time of gouging for these services is over...just help people get started for a price that makes it affordable for the people who need it.

Auto dealers can help by renting some of their unwanted trucks by the hour, so people can use them to haul supplies for home projects. Most people can't buy a truck but would rent one if they were easier to get and affordable.

Cities and States can help by making more land accessible to grow food. What is the use of acres of grass in a park when people are going hungry? Most parks already have water systems installed, so open them up to groups of people for gardening and even small livestock projects. Currently community gardening programs are overwhelmed with waiting lists of a year or more in most cases. This proves we need to devote more City owned land for these programs.

Coal Can Do That

2008-12-31T12:01:00.001-08:00

Yes, Coal can do this! This is Centralia, WA, home to TransAlta Centralia Mining as well as the TransAlta Coal Fired Power Plant. The upper gray blotch is the 1,700 acres around the Coal Plant. This plant started in April of 2001 and already boosts 5 Huge settling ponds to contain the waste ash produced by the Coal Fired Plant.

The lower gray blotch is the actual mine property. About 5,000 acres have been strip-mined and the mine has been closed for over two years. The company promised to reclaim the land when it closed back in 2006, so far very little has been do to return the 14,000 acres to anything resembling useful land.

This is just one very small operation of more than 140 Coal Fired Power Plants in the Western States. These companies have sold the idea of Clean Coal for years, but now it is easy to see just how "clean" it really is. Centralia lost 14,000 acres of prime farm land to "Clean Coal" and the SECOND that TransAlta had to start cleaning up the mess they closed the operations.

The Army Corps of Engineers and Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) published a notice of intent in the April 7, 2006, issue of the Federal Register (71 FR 17840) to prepare an EIS on TCM's proposed Pit 7 Mining Project. By November, the coal mine was "closed with reservation to reopen in the future." The environmental Impact Study was canceled. The area lost 600 jobs and the company canceled health insurance for more than 2000 employees, spouses and children.

I love the page sponsor listed at the bottom www.coalcandothat.com a whole site dedicated to promoting the positive side of coal. There isn't a single web page devoted to pollution, fly ash impoundment, strip mining, mountain top removal, water quality, black lung disease, mine reclaimation. Not a single page devoted to cleaning up the messes that the coal industry has already left in thousands of locations around the world. Yes, Coal can do that!

Stop The Waste--Legalize Marijuana!

2008-12-30T11:59:00.000-08:00

Dear Obama Team,

President Elect Obama has pledged to fight waste in all levels of Government, so Will Barack Obama consider the waste involved in the marijuana issue?

The monetary value of Marijuana in the United States is staggering, even with the Government's attempts to abolish it at every level. Most recent reports state the marijuana sales are over $35 Billion per year and have been increasing every year. That money is mostly being paid to Foreign Drug Cartels that profit at every turn selling this controlled substance. The drug wars being fought around marijuana are killing thousands of people every year and leading to the incarceration of many thousands more. All of this adds up to near $8 Billion a year to arrest, prosecute, and house people for possession of a substance no more addictive and much less harmful than alcohol. The waste must stop!

Abortion Laws, Doctor Assisted Suicide, and the rejection of Prohibition all point to the public's demand for Self-Determination, the right to live, control our bodies, and die the way we want to. Adults in America demand and receive the right to drinks as much as we want, have relationships with those we choose and in many states the right to die when we want to. Marijuana laws need to reflect the spirit of Self-Determination and be freed from outside influences that are counter to Self-Determination.

A Better Way: Follow the Alcohol Model for Marijuana- Decriminalize Growing and Possessing Marijuana for personal use. Allow growers to apply for a Permit to sell marijuana to their state governments for a set price based on a set potency. The States control the potency, sale and taxation of the marijuana.

The current street value of marijuana is $20 per gram. Let the States buy it from licensed growers for $5 per gram. The jobs created in the US growing marijuana--about 4 Million jobs at $40,000 per year in the first 2 years. (Triple that number to include hemp growing as an agricultural product that can be used in over 25,000 products.) The States sell the marijuana with a taxation rate of 200% making the street price about $15 per gram. The States would gain $22 Billion per year in taxes. And, that is just the first year. Following years would see even more jobs created and more taxes collected.

Will the Obama Administration stop the WASTE of law enforcement efforts, WASTE of salary and tax money and WASTE of non-violent incarceration by decriminalizing marijuana and hemp?

* Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and never will use marijuana due to an allergy to the plant and all of it's parts. Even though I cannot smoke it, I do see the benefits of legalizing it for Adult Usage as well as an agricultural product.

The Consequences of Foreign Debt--Good Bye America

2008-12-04T08:46:00.000-08:00

National Debt & Immigration

In the United States, we are watching in horror as our government digs us ever deeper in debt. Billions in bailouts have quickly soared into Trillions and there is no end in sight. What happens when that debt is so great that the US is forced to support foreign policies whether we agree with them or not just because we owe another country so much money that they have purchased our agreement? Just the last 8 years has proved this is not only possible but currently happening.

In the 1960's Mao Zedong forged links with African countries including South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Senegal by loaning the countries money, selling them weapons and generally supporting local revolutions. Later, China used that debt as leverage to open the way for Chinese Immigrants to those countries. The current estimate by the South African Institute of Internal Affairs states that 750,000 first generation Chinese have moved to Africa complete with Chinese bank loans and governmental approval.

These are not the standard type of immigrants looking to blend in but a whole new kind of wealthy businessman-immigrant looking for fresh opportunities to exploit and share(for a profit) with China. Lax immigration laws enable them to bring even more Chinese in as cheap labor, excluding local workers from working in the new businesses. They advertise their businesses in Chinese, they advertise job openings in Chinese--locals not needed or wanted.

Since, 2002 more than 20,000 Chinese have immigrated to Angola alone. [1] They are invited and protected by the $4 Billion in interest free loans made by the Chinese government to oil-rich Angola to build infrastructure designed to pump the oil and then ship it back to China to repay the loan. According to the loan agreement, at least 70% of the work must be done by Chinese companies. Their paychecks come from Chinese companies so their taxes go back to China, not to the country where they are working.

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil--The real Bush Legacy

China, once blacklisted as an American trade partner now enjoys favored trading status and leads the world in exports to America. Did China suddenly come to the light concerning human rights? Did China suddenly agree to stop polluting or allow Tibet to go free? No, China bought up enough American debt to force us to turn a blind eye to their problems, and throw open our ports to everything they had to offer. What does our future hold in terms of our freedoms to make policies and enforce trade regulations that benefit Americans? The outlook is not good.

Several writers have mentioned this concern in the last few years, even before the current crisis. Nikkei Weekly says Chinese leaders have boasted that because China is such an important lender to America, “Beijing is holding a dagger to Washington’s throat.” In September of this year China surpassed Japan as the largest American debt holder with the US owing China $585 Billion compared to $60 Billion in 2000. TheTrumpet.com even stated "serfdom is a reality many Americans may face in the future."

The Face of China in Africa--and Soon in the United States:

South Africa
Kenya & Nigeria
Uganda-- war financing leads to tourism and big business
Ghana
Senegal

Pirates or Patriots?

2008-11-19T10:44:00.000-08:00

News calls them pirates....the men in the boats say they are acting as a coastguard to protect Somalia from illegal fishing vessels and waste dumping. Even with so much news available it is often hard to figure out what is really going on.

The ransom demand is a means of "reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years", Januna Ali Jama, a spokesman for the pirates, based in the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, said.

"The Somali coastline has been destroyed, and we believe this money is nothing compared to the devastation that we have seen on the seas."

In a September 08 interview Sugule Ali, the spokesman for the Somali pirates said, "We don’t consider ourselves sea bandits [”sea bandit” is one way Somalis translate the English word pirate]. We consider sea bandits those who illegally fish in our seas and dump waste in our seas and carry weapons in our seas. We are simply patrolling our seas. Think of us like a coast guard."

July 26, 2008: The UN sounded the alarm on behalf of the people of Somalia, saying, the combination of illegal dumping and illegal fishing, and now open piracy, has made the Somali coast one of the most dangerous on earth." Ironically, the most prized catch for fishermen, the yellowfin tuna, is being caught in waters that have proved to be unsafe to humans due to high levels of toxic chemicals including lead, cadmium, mercury and radioactive uranium. Because of the secretive nature of illegal fishing( and the fact no one would buy fish known to be from Somali waters), these contaminated fish are sold, and consumed across Europe, to uninformed buyers. The same lack of regulation that allows European Fishermen to steal from Somali waters, also allows contaminated fish to be sold on the market without mentioning the origin.

This is far from being a new problem, in an article from 2001 the writer calls Somalia the **World's Most Attractive Illegal Hazardous Waste Dumping Site** and the pollution at that time was already over a decade old. Experts estimate that it costs about $2.50 to sink a ton of toxic waste off the African Coast compared to $250 that would have to be paid in Europe.

Going back even further, this abstract from 1999 tells about a meeting in 1991 that discussed how difficult is was to patrol 3333 km of coastline. At the time over 400 huge ships were illegally fishing the coast of Somalia to the extent that the local fishing industry was near collapse. It has since completely collapsed leaving the locals with no source of food or income. Illegal dumping was also discussed, and "2 Companies were named as perpetrators include an Italian firm (Progresso) and Swiss firm (Achair Partners)"

A story from 2002 names Achair Partners of Chapelle-sur-Moudon, in Switzerland as "authorized to build and operate a facility near Mogadishu for dumping or incinerating up to half a million tonnes of hospital and industrial waste per year for the next 20 years." The person who "authorized" (and profited to the tune of $80 Million) from the deal is Nur Elmy Osman, who called himself minister of health in the 'government' of Ali Mahdi Mohammed, leader of one of Somalia's warring factions. As a result of the UNEP's investigation, the contract was declared null and the facility was never built. Still it became apparent to the UNEP's director Dr. Mustafa Tolba that the firms of Achair Partners and Progresso were set up specifically as fictitious companies by larger industrial firms to dispose of hazardous waste.

During the Christmas tsunami of 2004, dozens of rusty barrels washed ashore. Since then, hundreds of local people have fallen ill, suffering from mouth and abdominal bleeding, skin infections, and other ailments. Many of the barrels dated back to 1992 when a group of European companies recruited Swiss company Archair Partners and the Italian company Progresso, both specialized in the export of undesirable waste.

The very company hired in 2005 to patrol the coastline has been linked to government contracts sold by the ousted Somali Transitional Federal Government(STFG), which is temporarily based in Nairobi, to escort ships traveling through Somali waters. The ships they were escorting seem to be the same ships that are carrying waste from Europe. What little government is left is supporting itself by selling dumping rights and poisoning the people they claim(from Nairobi) to be representing. In truth, much of the waste was being carried from Italy aboard fishing vessels belonging to a company called the Somali High Sea Fishing Company, working out of Yemen harbors, supported by big money deals between the Italian Mafia aka "The Pirates of Rubbish" and the STFG.

There are no fish left to catch, the ones that can be caught in the traditional ways are poisoned, the water poisoned and the land is at war. No wonder the Somalian people are ticked off enough to become "pirates!"

Oil tankers do not double as fishing vessels, but since there are no safe fish to catch, tankers provide the next best thing---CASH. Piracy makes up 35% of the GDP of Somalia and without it, up to half of the people would starve to death. European(and World) politics created this problem and like other problems resulting from blind greed, this particular problem has grown into a Monster. Shipping companies can either pay the ransom or pay the people of Somalia to clean up the mess directly and pass the cost onto their customers. One way or another, someone is going to pay for years of neglect and corruption.

More Recently, stories have been emerging that point to the Ivory Coast as being the new "Best Place to Dump"

The ship Probo Koala, a former oil tanker that has been used more recently for waste disposal, dumped waste into an Ivory Coast lagoon in September of 2006 after deeming European disposal methods too expensive. The ship was chartered by the Holland-based oil trading firm Trafigura.

UPDATE 7/23/2010:

A Dutch court has found multinational Trafigura guilty of illegally exporting toxic waste from Amsterdam and concealing the nature of the cargo.

In 2006, Trafigura transported waste alleged to have been involved in the injury of thousands of people in Ivory Coast. Trafigura denied any wrongdoing.

It expressed disappointment in the ruling and is considering an appeal.

The firm was fined 1m euros (£836,894) for its ship, the Probo Koala, transiting Amsterdam with its cargo.

The ship then went on to unload its cargo in Ivory Coast.

One of those who fell ill after waste was dumped, Ivorian Guy Oulla, told the BBC: "I believe it is a very good decision because people should pay for what they do, you know. So, I agree with that decision. You know, we live in Africa and it could happen again because in Africa people do everything for money."

Cheap Low-Tech Desalination Using a Greenhouse

2008-11-18T13:43:00.001-08:00

Water, Water, everywhere, but just .5% to drink!

The world is facing a serious clean water shortage and scientists everywhere are hard at work on solutions, but too often the solutions are so expensive that they are out of reach for the people who need them. One simple solution is to change a problem into a solution.

I have had many greenhouses over the years, and I can tell you a major problem is condensation. High humidity can cause fungus in many crops, and it is no fun to work in a greenhouse when you are being rained on! But if the goal is to harvest water then that problem can be turned into a solution.

In this example, a very simple hoop house can provide the heat needed to extract water from wet soil, brackish ponds or even the ocean. The sun warms the air inside the hoop and causes the water to be evaporated. The condensation collects on the ceiling and runs down the walls into a channel where it can be pumped into a reservoir. On land, as the moisture inside is depleted, more nasty water can be added. This step is not needed for a floating system.

Advantages of this system.
1) Very low tech and low cost.
2) Suitable for use in tropical climates. The more sun it gets the faster it makes clean water.
3) Moisture additions can be salty, water laden plant materials or even animal or human waste buried under a layer of soil.
4) Floating system would not damage sealife since only a small percentage of surface area is covered.
5) This system can be erected in 1-2 days by 2 people for about $24.00. It would last up to 3 years and produce up to 100 gallons a day(at 80 F. outside temperature)
6) Inside temperature would be 140 F.-150 F. effectively pasteurizing the water and preventing most fungus, & bacteria including tuberculosis, diphtheria, polio, salmonella, strep throat, scarlet fever, and typhoid fever.

One of the Reasons I Hate SPRINT!

2008-11-07T10:29:00.000-08:00

Sprint Charges fees for whatever they want to and there is no way to opt out of paying them.

Sofrito Recipe Fall Favorite

2008-10-09T09:56:00.000-07:00

Fall is Sofrito season! This tasty and (this time of the year) cheap sauce can be used in dozens of recipes for yummy cheap food.

5 pounds Red Bell Peppers(Pulled out of the discount bin--$2.49
1 pound tomatoes (fresh or canned--99c)
2 large onions(also in season--1 pound .49c
1/2 bunch of celery(not in season but usually cheap--$1.00)
5 cloves of garlic, crushed(5c)

* Chop everything down to 1/4 inch cubes.
* Saute the celery and onions in 3 Tablespoons of Olive oil (15c) for a few minutes until the onions are starting to turn brown.
* Turn down the heat and add the chopped peppers and garlic and cover the pan so that the peppers will sweat out quickly
* Continue to cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours (or place in the oven on 300 degrees for 2 hours.) Most of the liquid should be cooked down to syrup.
* Stir 2 tablespoons of corn starch or flour(10c) into 1/2 cup of water or vegetable broth(10c) until all the lumps are gone. Dump into the sofrito and stir well.
* Ladle the sauce into 2 quart jars, cover and allow to cool to room temp, then refrigerate for up to 1 week. (2 quarts of Safrito for $5.37--which is about 1/3 the price of buying it premade.)
* There should be sauce left in the pot. SPANISH BEANS: Add 2-3 cups of cooked beans and 1/2 cup of water. Cook until heated through. Salt & Pepper to taste and serve with crusty bread.

Drill, Baby, Drill??? For What???

2008-09-13T07:59:00.001-07:00

An oil slick of this size in the Gulf of Mexico is bad, but due to the warm water, the oil tends to evaporate in a matter of a few months. An oil slick this size in Alaska would be devastating--the cold water would stop evaporation and the oil would stay in the environment for HUNDREDS OF YEARS.

Cheap Eats: My Favorite Cream Pies

2008-09-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

Cream Pies are easy, though time consuming, to make. Basically, all cream pies are cooked pudding, poured into a crust and topped with whipped cream.

Cooked pudding:
3 cups of milk or other liquid(more about that later)
2 eggs
3/4 cup of sugar
1/3 cup corn starch or 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Combine milk, eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Heat in microwave on high, 2 minutes at a time until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in the vanilla extract and pour into individual sized cups or bowls & refrigerate until firm. This beats Jello Instant Pudding by a MILE and 6 servings cost about $1.50 to make.

The transition from pudding to pie simply involves dumping the cooked pudding into a pie crust instead of serving cups and topping with whipped cream. Voila! Vanilla Cream Pie.

Once those steps are mastered, things can get interesting! Use a combo of Coconut Milk and Evaporated milk, add some flaked coconut and you have Coconut Cream Pie:

Coconut Cream Pie ala Vickie

1 13.5 ounce can Coconut Milk
1 12 ounce can Evaporated Milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup corn starch or 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup flaked coconut, toasted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Combine coconut milk, condensed milk, eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Heat in microwave on high, 2 minutes at a time until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in 1/4 cup of the coconut and the vanilla extract. Pour into pie shell and chill 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.
2. Top with whipped topping, and with remaining 1/4 cup of toasted coconut.
3. Note: To toast coconut, spread it in an ungreased pan and bake in a 350 degree F (175 degrees C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes, or until golden brown, stirring occasionally.

Banana Cream Pie

Peel and chop 3 ripe bananas. Saute the bananas on low heat in1 teaspoon of butter with 2 tablespoons of brown sugar for 3-5 minutes until sugar is completely melted. Pour half of the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pie crust.

Make the pudding recipe:
1 1/2 cup milk
1 12 ounce can Evaporated Milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup corn starch or 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Reserved cooked bananas
1/2 Teaspoon banana flavoring(if desired)
1 (9 inch) pie shell, baked
1 cup frozen whipped topping, thawed

Directions:

1. Combine the milk, condensed milk, eggs, sugar, flour and salt. Heat in microwave on high, 2 minutes at a time until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in the reserved cooked bananas and the banana & vanilla extracts. Pour into pie shell and chill 2 to 4 hours, or until firm.
2. Top with whipped topping.

Ocean Shores Pie
AKA The Original Sex on the Beach

Chocolate Pudding

3 cups of milk
2 eggs
1 cup Instant Chocolate Milk Mix
1/3 cup corn starch or 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine milk, eggs, chocolate milk mix, flour and salt. Heat in microwave on high, 2 minutes at a time until mixture is thick and bubbly. Stir in the vanilla extract and set aside.

2 Cups Whole Small Ripe Strawberries
1/4 cup Caramels, melted
1/4 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips, melted
1 tablespoon butter
Graham Cracker Crust
1/4 cup Hershey's Chocolate Syrup

Directions:

1. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate chips and stir in the butter. Dump into graham cracker crust and spread evenly.
2. Melt caramels, dump on top of chocolate and spread evenly.
3. Remove the stems from the strawberries and stand them in the caramel upside down until the floor of the pie is filled.
4. Carefully fill up the pie with chocolate pudding. (There will be some left over...eat that while waiting for the pie to chill.)
5. Chill the pie at least 3 hours. Then top with whipped topping and drizzle Hershey's Chocolate Syrup over the top.

Whipped Cream Topping
Use this simple sweetened whipped cream topping on cream pies, gingerbread, cobbler, and other desserts.

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks. Spread over top of cooled pie or use as a dessert or shortcake topping.

Cooler Whip Recipe

1 c instant nonfat dry milk
1 c ice water
1/4 c lemon juice
1/2 c sugar

Directions

1. Chill bowl and beaters.
2. Whip dry milk with water until soft peaks form, about 3 minutes.
3. Add lemon juice and beat until stiff, about 4 minutes.
4. Fold in sugar.

Tofu Whipped Topping

10 1/2 ounces package extra-firm or Firm tofu, reg. or low fat
4 tablespoons sweetener of your choice
2 tablespoons Lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon Salt
1/8 teaspoon Almond extract
Soymilk as needed

Directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and process until very smooth. Add more soymilk a teaspoon at a time if the mixture is too thick; blend well. Place in a covered container; refrigerate until chilled.

Can We Trust the Polls?

2008-09-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Pollsters, including Gallup Polls, throw numbers at us every day. McCain 49%. Obama 44% for example, but where do the Pollsters really get their numbers?

In the case of Gallup polls that track the election and the major political, social and economic questions of the day, the target audience is generally referred to as "national adults." Strictly speaking the target audience is all adults, aged 18 and over, living in telephone households
within the continental United States. In effect, it is the civilian, non-institutionalized population. College students living on campus, armed forces personnel living on military
bases, prisoners, hospital patients and others living in group institutions are not represented in Gallup's "sampling frame."

This "Sampling Frame" also leaves out the 3/10 Households in the US that have ONLY cell phones because Federal Law forbids unsolicited call to cell phones from the automatic dialing machines used by Gallup.

So, who are these 30% of Americans that are not represented in the "National Polls"??? A good portion of them are:
* Lower-than-Median income
* Renters (rather than home-owners)
* Minorities
* Under 30
* In College or Recently Post-Graduation-General better educated than non-cell phone users.
* Single(nearly 66% of people age 30 and under are single compared to only 33% of people over 40.

In Short, the people under represented in Gallop Polls (by a Whopping 30%!!) are DEMOCRATS!

In the case of the Recent Political Poll offered by Gallop Polls stating that McCain is leading by 5% (McCain 49% to Obama 45%), what would the numbers look like if the unrepresented 30% were added into the poll??

If the sample was 100 land-lines called:
49 of them chose McCain
45 of them chose Obama
6 of them are undecided.

If 30 of those calls had been to cell-phones, then the numbers would probably look like this:
19 would choose McCain
75 of them would choose Obama
6 of them would be undecided.

Land-line polling is not keeping up with the changes in American Culture, so how can we trust the Polls at all?

Pet Ownership Hits a New Low at MudBay

2008-08-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

I got a unsolicited catalog in the mail today from Mud Bay. Mud Bay is a pet supply company with about 14 locations in The Puget Sound area. I personally don't keep pets, but when I did, Purina Dog or Cat Chow seemed to keep them healthy for a reasonable price. It contained grains, meat by-products, vitamins and minerals--pretty basic stuff. Today I thumbed through a catalog that, first of all, made me angry, and then as I read more, ashamed.

"Mud Bay offers more than 500 varieties of healthy foods for dogs and cats." And, they are PROUD to say so right on the cover!

See the first "article"? Remember that this is Seattle and I live in one of the poorest neighborhoods. Mud Bay thinks I will need a Ruffwear K-9 Float Coat for my DOG, when I take it out on my BOAT! The price of $49.95-$69.95 is right in the range of what I spend on groceries at the local Canned Food Outlet. Let me see....food or dog life preserver??? The US Government sent US Service Men to Iraq with out of date body armor but one of my low-income neighbors is going to buy a 1680-denier BALLISTIC nylon doggy boating outfit???? THIS IS SO WRONG!

CBS did a series on a product called Plumpynut, basically a nutritious food bar made of peanut butter, designed to feed starving children. Since the introduction of the product in 2007, thousands of children have been rescued from the edge of death, but guess what? The price of peanut butter is on the rise--39 to 100% in worldwide markets. That means that Plumpynut is only going to be available to about half as many children next year. The good news is Mud Bay has plenty of peanut butter snacks for our PETS. Mud Bay customers must be rolling in assets though, Presto Peanut Butter Twinkles start at $7.99 for 8 ounces! ($7.99 would feed 8 children for 2 days. ) If an 8 ounce jar of peanut butter was $7.99 at the grocery store, America would be outraged! THIS IS SO WRONG!

Whats for dinner? How about Organic Beef, & Organic Vegetables with Cold Pressed Unrefined Safflower Oil? Sound like the best meal many of us will see all year, but this is for DOGS! If a Mud Bay customer feeds their pet Organic petfood and then I cook their pet for Sunday dinner, is that considered Organic & Cagefree Meat? THIS IS SO WRONG!

The ingredients listed in the PETFOODS sold by this company are amazing, and these are not listed as "By-Product". How many things on this list do you buy regularly? How many things on this list would your pet eat if it wasn't processed?

Duck
Beef & Organic Beef
Turkey & Organic Turkey
Shrimp
Crab
Herring
Salmon
Chicken
Venison
Lamb
Tilipia
Tuna
Rainbow Trout
Rabbit
Maki Rolls
Artichoke
Avocado
Garlic
Potato
Cucumber
Carrots
Apples
Sweet Potato
Strawberries
Blueberries
Papaya
Figs
Cranberries
Oats
Rice
Brown Rice
Flaxseed

We all know how much dogs love to hike and Mud Bay has the prefect take along dehydrated foods just for dogs! It comes in 4 flavors made from either Venison or Brushtail. And don't forget the $15 Folding Water Bowl...don't want Fido drinking out of a mountain stream--Heaven forbid!! After EXTENSIVE research. I finally found out what "Brushtail" is. Wiki says "Brushtailed possums are also very intelligent creatures, with brainpower comparable to a dog. This makes hand reared possums ideal to teach tricks. Common tricks can include "sit" and "hiss" but they can also be trained to "fetch" with enough time. It is important to remember when training brushtailed possums to be firm with the instruction and always give a reward such as fruit or vegetables." So, Americans grind up animals as smart as dogs to feed to dogs. I guess it's the Brushtail's fault for not being smart enough to get their own Kennel Club. THIS IS SO WRONG!

Cat litter is a problem for most cat owners in the city, but thankfully Mud Bay has them covered with a wide array of cat-pee absorbents that have no resemblance to the owners favorite pillow. First offender, the Lavender scented clumping litter ..."some people mix it with unscented litter for a subtler effect" In other word this stuff is strong and unless you want to be greeted at the front door by a WALL OF LAVENDER SCENTED CAT PEE, you might want to cut it a little. Second offender, Swheat Scoop, made from WHEAT(that stuff we need to get a decent Artisan Loaf of Bread) and it "smells like healthy breakfast cereal". If wheat prices go much higher we may be buying this product in the 40 pound bag....call it "high fiber bread!" The third offender is "World's Best Cat Litter". I want the President of Mud Bay to fly to Mexico City and face the crowds rioting over the price of corn tortillas. Let that person tell those hungry poor people that the price has gone up, not just due to bio-fuel but because Americans need corn for cat-litter! That's right this product is made out of corn. THIS IS SO WRONG!

For $13.95, you can buy a purse that clips to your dogs collar so they can carry their own poo to the garbage can...so much cooler for you than walking around with a bag of sh*t for a half hour!

In a world of food riots and starvation around the world, this company offers pet food made from blueberries, organic beef, duck, buffalo, shrimp, salmon, artichokes, avocados, and lamb??? No wonder the price of groceries is so high--rich people have so damn much money that they are feeding the good stuff to their pets.

In a word, Mud Bay is ridiculous. And, since this company has no sense of shame, then I will be ashamed for them. American pets are treated and fed better than half of the children in the world. SHAME!

********************

Junk mail eats up 100 Million Trees a year, so the very action of printing and mailing out 10,000 of them to my zipcode is a huge waste. I see a future, when junk mail will finally be outlawed!

Easter Baked Pineapple

2008-08-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

When I was young, my Mother always made a ham for Easter that was covered with cloves and pineapple rings. The pineapple was always my favorite part of the meal. This recipe reproduces the flavor of the baked pineapple without the meat.

1 Whole Ripe Pineapple, skinned and cored.

1 Tbsp Brown Sugar

1 Tsp Bacon Salt

1/2 Tsp Ground Cloves

Spray a sheet pan with cooking oil and set aside. Heat oven to 350.

Slice the whole pineapple into 1/2 inch slices and cut each in half to create a crescent. Arrange slices on a sheet pan. Mix sugar, cloves and bacon salt together and then sprinkle a tiny bit over each slice.

Bake the pineapple at 350 for 60 minutes or until slightly browned. Turn the pineapple over every 10 minutes.

After baking, arrange the slices in a food dehydrator and dry on regular setting for 6-8 hours or until very leathery. Store in the fridge until eaten.

Eat these slices as is for snacks or chop them up and use them in recipes calling for dried fruit.

Delish!

Dandelions: Pest or Asset?

2008-08-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

The best way to manage a pest is to think of it as an asset and learn how to use it for profit. Once this strategy is in place the Old Pest/New Asset will start to decline.

Dandelions are a great place to put this principal to work. Think of the origins of Dandelions: Dandelions are native to the Middle East and were carried along the Spice Trails over a thousand years ago as a medicinal plant as well as a garden green. Immigrants carried dandelions from Europe to the United States in the 1790's as a guaranteed nutritional food crop that required little work to produce. It has since then, self seeded all over the western continents and being so common, most of Dandelions' value has been forgotten.

Currently, Dandelions are enjoying a resurgence of popularity as people rediscover the wonders of this plant. Bundles of young leaves share space with spinach at my local farmers market at about the same price. Dried roots are available at most health food stores and on eBay for $5.00 for 2 ounces of dried root. Recipes for Dandelion wine are every where on the internet, carefully reproducing recipes tracing back to our ancestors over 300 years ago. Scientists are experimenting with processes to use the latex in dandelions to produce commercial rubber. Dandelions have a lot to offer to anyone who takes the time to appreciate them.

Dandelions through the year:
Early Spring: Pull off the young leaves(less than 8 inches long) and mix them with salad greens or cooked greens for a super nutritional boost! These youngest leaves are good to eat as long as you keep harvesting them. Once the leaves start to get old, they will be too bitter to enjoy.

Early Summer: Gather every flower you can get your hands on. Remove all the green bits and make a few gallons of Dandelion Wine. This traditional wine is a scarce treat that will delight your family and friends at Christmas time. Serve in small quantities as this wine can develop an alcohol content of up to 14%!

Flowers are also terrific deep fried in batter. Simply dip the whole flower into your favorite tempura style batter and fry until golden brown.

Fall: Gather Dandelion Puffs before they blow away for a natural and Vegan substitute for down filling. It takes a lot of dandelions for a vest but the puffs will not deteriorate for at least 20 years.(And even after 20 years the seeds will still grow if given the chance.) and the insulation qualities are very similar to goose down although not as water repellent.
Late fall: After the first hard frost, dig up the dandelion roots, dry them and use all winter long for a good diuretic tea that still packs a nutritional punch in the form of potassium and other trace minerals. For the whole story on Dandelions for medicine visit Here.

After following this plan for a couple of years you will see the Dandelion supply go down. As is the case every time you change a pest into an asset.

Experiments in Gardening?

2008-07-13T08:31:00.000-07:00

I am new to vegetable gardening and I am enjoying some surprising successes in my tiny city garden that I would like to share.

Experiment 1
My first attempt at city gardening came with strict instructions from my landlord, "Don't mess up the grass!" My yard, I must add, is on a dramatic slope of about 35 degrees. The total rise from the front to the back is about 10 feet. The base under the soil is rip-rap(fist sized granite used to hold the hillside in place and the soil is only about 4 inches deep in most places.)

That year I cleared out a portion of ivy that adjoined the yard on the west side and set up my first garden. Much to my surprise I found literally a truck load of aged compost under the ivy, left by lawn care workers over many years as they tended the grass. All of this was carefully scraped away and reserved. No permanent structures were allowed so I had to improvise my raised beds. I was just getting started so I went with the cheapest material possible--cardboard boxes. I had a good supply of 12 inch square shipping boxes on hand (usually used for my E-Bay sales) I set up a bunch of them, filled them with soil and compost and planted corn, beans & lettuce.

These boxes had 8 inches of soil and that is just not enough for corn so it failed. We did get 10 or so edible ears. The beans did fine and produced for about 2 months. We had greens beans every other night and I have developed many recipes to put green beans in the main dish for dinner.

The lettuce was eaten as it showed up. The slugs were determined to eat all of it. Luckily I planted plently for all of us! Slugs really seemed to love the cardboard boxes and they were very hard to battle in this experimental garden, there were just too many place for them to hide!

Experiment 2
Later in the season, I had run out of boxes and wanted to add tomatoes so I used the very lazy approach of just laying a bag of soil on the ground and cutting out a space to plant in the top. I have never seen this done but it was expedient at the time.
I planted more lettuce in these as well as tomatoes. In this picture the tomatoes are about 1 inch tall. Eventually, those tomatoes grew to over 7 feet tall and needed elaborate support, sorry no pictures of that semi-fiasco! We got 3 or 4 dozen small tomatoes and had lettuce until November 14th, the first frost of the season.

Experiment 3
I have read about Gro-bags in various places on the internet but most of them were $10.00 or more each and all of them seemed to have problems when it came to watering them. One garden commentator resorted to dipping the whole bag into a barrel of water to fix the problem. With each bag weighing about 40 pounds, this was not an option for me, so I tried to invent a better bag.
I made these bags out of contractor's grade garbage bags, duct tape, twine, and staples. Each of these bags has 4 or 5 pockets and takes up a space of 8 inches wide by 40 inches long on the wall of my building. Or in this picture, on my balcony. I have cherry tomatoes, baby lettuce and squash.

Here is a happy cabbage plant basking in the sun.

Here is a zucchini growing in front of my window.

Every thing did fine in these bags early on, but I had the same problem...uneven water distribution. By August, I had to water these 3 times a day and still the black plastic got too hot and par-boiled most of the plants. Tomatoes and squash seemed to enjoy the heat but all the lettuce and cabbage plants were cooked in their soil. The encouraging part of this experiment was the lack of harmful bugs. Spiders set up shop in gangs but no slugs, no grubs and very little of anything else to munch on my veggies. I harvested tomatoes by the handfuls and an average of 10 baby squash from each of the squash plants.

My second permutation of these bags added an automatic drip system to each bag. 2 - 1/2 gallon drippers in the top and middle of each bag set on 15 minutes of water 2 times per day. This worked well but heat was still a major problem. The black plastic simply absorbs too much heat. Also the constant watering seems to wash the nutrients out of the soil. These small pockets do not have enough room to side dress with compost so I resorted to Alaska Fish Fertilizer. The nitrogen levels in this product make for fabulous foliage but probably wont help fruit production much.

This is my balcony as of July 13, 2008. I have harvested pounds of lettuce and the tomatoes are going crazy. I also have Foot-Long beans planted in here but they are growing very slowly. Over night temperatures have finally reached above 60 degrees so I am hoping they will finally show some growth. If you look very closely, you can see the pipe for the watering system.

As a side note on this experiment, I'd like to say that using these plastic bags gave me time to think about plastic in general. The experiment was not perfect and far worse is the fact that when the experiment is over, I will be adding many pounds of plastic to the landfill. The un-sustainability of this project has really bothered me and I am not going to continue this after these bags wear out. Plastic is one of the items of everyday life that has an extremely long life as waste. The type of plastic I used is recyclable but not accepted here in Seattle where the recycling company insists on recycling by shape rather than by the numbers. For example we can recycle water bottles (#1 plastic) but we can't recycle strawberry boxes (also #1 plastic). We can recycle yogurt containers (#5 plastic) but we can't recycle Glad Food Boxes (also #5 plastic). Our system is flawed so many, many items that are marked recyclable still end up in the trash headed for a landfill.

After looking around I have found a product that is headed for landfill but suits my needs very well: Lumber Wraps. This Tyvek like material is used to wrap bundles of lumber during shipment and is discarded once the lumber gets to the lumber yard. It allows air to circulate by it will contain the soil and water. Plus it is much stronger than plastic so the steps needed to make a plant bag have been cut in half. I made 18 bags out of 1 lumber wrap with very little waste. Total time for 18 bags was about 2 hours. Each bag uses: 20"x 40" of material, 44" of duct tape, about 100 staples, and 2 wire ties.

This is my first bag made out of a lumber-wrap. Note the top pocket is fitted with a lid. I will be able to add compost and fertilizer to the top and then water the nutrients down to the other pockets. I have transplanted 2 Blue Lake beans, a Romaine lettuce and a broccoli plant into the pockets and I will report on the outcome later in the season.

This new material is 1) recycled, 2) white so it doesn't absorb as much heat, 3) air-permeable so it allows air circulation to the plant roots, 4) very easy to work with, and 5) very stable. I expect these bags to last 5 years of more even out in the sun. Oh, did I mention it is CHEAP?

I have a PDF available on how to make these GroPockets. I will e-mail the PDF within 48 hours of your notification of payment! Total cost for the detailed PDF is $2.00...no tax...no s&h!
Experiment 4
My small successes in my first year seemed to impress my landlord and he has given permission to install more permanent raised beds, so when we got a break in the weather last February, we installed 13 beds. Each bed is 2.5 feet wide and 5 feet long. The depths vary from 8 inches on the top to 16 inches on the lower side of our sloped yard.

The skylights were salvaged from a construction project here in Seattle and they make excellent cold frames that fit into the beds like they were custom made! This picture is from February of 2008, right after the beds were built. Total cost was less than $200 using all new cedar lumber from Lowe's. Notice the wide paths between the beds to accommodate our wheel barrow and my ample backside...lol!

I only have about 140 square feet of space to work with so I have been using a combination of Square Foot Gardening and French Intensive Gardening. Each bed is 12.5 square feet and is planted with many different plants. Each plant is spaced from similar plants at the recommended distances but the space is filled with other types of plants. Over all, one bed contains about 100 plants.
This bed is a good example: 2 rhubarb, 10 strawberries, 50 shallots and 50 beans. The shallots were harvested in June and replaced with leeks. The beans are blooming now. The strawberries are just beginning to produce following a horribly cold and wet spring. They are everbearers so I expect them to continue producing through September or November.

One unexpected problem with my garden has been moles and rats, both of which love to dig around in my beds. This isn't much of a problem for established plants but seedlings were dug up every night. I have resorted to rat poison and traps as well as a Sonic Mole Repellent. The moles have left but the rats haven't been impressed. Finally I had to wrap each bed in 18 inches of 4 mil plastic to make an added barrier to deter the rats. The plastic is held up by flimsy bamboo stakes and is loose so it is very hard for the rats to chew it or climb it. So far, this has been about 75% successful.

Seeds of Shame?

2008-07-05T17:18:00.000-07:00

Gardening Into The Future.
Gardening is enjoying renewed interest in the US and around the world. We are trudging down the garden path of our grandparents to plant our own Victory Gardens. We dig in the dirt and drop in a few seeds and a miracle happens...food appears! Home gardening seems so safe, we know what we put on our food and we can choose organic or non-organic methods, but the line is beginning to blur. Can Genetically Modified(GM) crops be "Organic"? How do we know if seeds are GM or not? Where do garden seeds come from? Who grows fruits and vegetables just for the seeds? Monsanto is the worlds largest supplier of garden seed in the world, so how do we trust that they are selling us the seeds we want? Currently there is no way to know.

Monsanto is the largest supplier of seeds in the world, but they don't seem very proud of the fact. I doubt I will ever see a package of Monsanto Brand Big Beef Tomatoes but they own that variety. Big Beef Tomato Seeds are resold by dozens of seed companies including Johnny's and Burpee, but nowhere do they say "Proudly Produced by Monsanto Seeds..." In fact 23% of the Tomato seeds sold in the WORLD come from Monsanto and none of them say so on the package. Monsanto is also the creator of "Round-up Ready" seeds and "Terminator" Seeds. When will these dubious "atributes" be incorporated into vegetable garden seeds? Very Very soon.

Monsanto subsidiary Seminis is announcing "Seedless Tomatoes" on it's website. Tomatoes WITHOUT SEEDS. "Seedless" is the basic foundation of "Terminator" seeds...they don't reproduce. I felt a chill down my spine at the thought of that. When bees visit the flowers of these tomatoes, they will cross pollinate with other tomatoes....how long does it take to make ALL tomatoes SEEDLESS? The only seeds available will be from Monsanto!

Seeds are the foundation of the future of our food supply, yet it is almost impossible to find out where the seeds come from. Even Heirloom varieties can be contaminated, and if they are, all the better for Monsanto. It is time to care for our own future by being more careful where we get our seeds. Boycott the GM seeds and be watchful for your neighbors to prevent cross-contamination. And, learn how to collect your own seeds for the coming season.

A partial list of who controls food seeds in the US and around the world:
Monsanto Subsidiaries
DeltaPine Australia Pty Limited - Dec-99
Holden's/Cotton States - Mar-03
Pergamino
Stoneville Cotton
Dekalb
Asgrow
De Ruiter Seeds - 2008
Delta & Pine - Aug-06 (again) World’s largest cotton seed company. Developer of Terminator Technology. Annual sales, 2004: US$315 million-Owns:
* Ellis Brothers Seed
* Arizona Processing
* Mississippi Seed Co.
* Hartz Cotton
* Sure Grow Seeds
* D&PL South Africa, Inc.
* D&PL Semillas Ltda (Costa Rica)
* Deltapine Australia Pty. Ltd.
* Turk DeltaPine, Inc. (Turkey)
* Deltapine India Seed Private Ltd.
* D&M International, LLC:
* D&PL China Pte Ltd.
* Hebei Ji Dai Cottonseed Technology Company Ltd.
* CDM Mandiyu S.R.L. (Argentina)
* MDM Sementes De Algodao, Ltda. (Brazil)
* DeltaMax Cotton, LLC (50%)
As of Nov, 2008, over 170,000 Indian Farmers have committed suicide over crop failures of Monsanto Seeds.

Semillas Cristiani Burkard - June-06?
Mahyco - 2003

American Seeds Inc - NOV-04 ownes:
Channel Bio Seeds - NOV-04
Crow's Hybrid Corn - Feb-05
Midwest Seed Genetics - Feb-05
Wilson Seeds - Feb-05
NC+ Hybrids - Mar-05
Emergent Genetics - Mar-05
Fontanelle Hybrids - Sept-05
Stewart Seeds - Sept-05
Trelay Seeds - Sept-05
Stone Seeds - Sept-05
Specialty Hybrids - Sept-05
Gold Country Seed Inc. - Mar-06
Heritage Seeds - Mar-06
Diener Seeds - Sept-06
Kruger Seed Company - June-06
Landec's - Dec-06
Fielder's Choice Direct - Dec-06
Heartland Hybrids - Dec-06
Jacob Hartz
First Line Seeds
Cargill's Intern.
Seminis - Jan-07 ownes:
Royal Sluis
Petoseed
Bruinsma
Asgrow Vegetable Seeds
Sementes Agroceres (vegetable seed division)
Barham Seed

Monsanto now assumes a leading market share in the global vegetable seed market, where they were virtually invisible before:

Beans Monsanto controls 31% of the global seed market
Cucumbers Monsanto controls 38% of the global seed market
Hot Pepper Monsanto controls 34% of the global seed market
Sweet Pepper Monsanto controls 29% of the global seed market
Tomato Monsanto controls 23% of the global seed market
Onions Monsanto controls 25% of the global seed market

Monsanto Brand Names Sold By Seminis: All seeds using these trademarked names are created and owned by Monsanto:
Ancho San Martin Peppers
Apollo Seedless watermelon
Baby Star Romaine
Bambino mini-personal watermelons
Big Beef Hybrid Tomato
Bistro Lamb’s Lettuce
Bizarr Tomato
Brilliant Tomato
Castle Dome Broccoli(PS 1536)
Cheddar Cauliflower
CMS Liberty Broccoli
Coronado Crown Broccoli
Cupid Tomato
Cupid Tomato
Envy Carrot
Eureka Cucumber
Ever Tomato
Fairy Tale Eggplant
Festina Beans
Glory Tomato
Idooll Tomato
Impreza Cucumber
Ivone Tomato
Jive Spinach
Karina Carrot
Kenia Cucumber
Llanoverde Cucumber
Loustik Cucumber
Luzon Peppers
Mariachi Hybrid pepper
Morraine Peppers
Obsession Sweet Corn
Orange Glory Peppers
Passion Hybrid yellow sweet corn
Pheres Kohlrabi
Picus Roma Tomato(XP 01429864)
Ramiro Peppers
Red Glory Peppers
Red Knight (with X3R *copyright) Pepper
Rumbo Winter Squash
Schooltime Pumpkin
Socrates (with X3R *copyright) hybrid pepper
Spoetnik Cucumber
Striker Peppers
Sun King Hybrid tomato
Sungreen Squash
Sunny Delight Scallop Squash
Tiffany Hybrid tomato
Timotion Tomato
Tomande Tomato
AND, NEARLY 2400 MORE!

Seed Catalog Companies Supplied by Seminis(Monsanto)

Burpee, W Atlee
J.W. Jung Seed Co.
E & R Seed Co.
Earl May Seed
Lindenberg Seeds
Earl May Seed
Mountain Valley Seed
Gardens Alive
Johnnys Selected Seeds
Mountain Valley Seeds
Park Seed
Ag-Seeds Unlimited
Goway Seed Co.
Keithly-Williams Seed Co
Lockhart Seeds
Logan-Zenner Seeds
Osborn Int'l Seed Co
Rocky Mountain Seed Co.
Santa Maria Seeds
Scott Seed Co
T & T Seeds
Tomato Growers Supply
Select Seeds of Arizona
Snow Seed Co
Timothy, Stewart & Lekos
Willhite Seed Co
White Seed Co
DeWitt Seed Co
Holmes Seed Co
Jordan Seed Co
Kelly Seed Co
Rispen's & Son
Rupp Seed Co
Seedway Inc
Siegers Seed Co
Stokes Seeds Limited

AND, MANY MANY MORE!

Monsanto Licensee's
Syngenta - June-08
* Advanta BV (North American corn and soybean business – Garst brand)
* Petoseed
* Bruinsma
* Northrup King (NK)
* Asgrow Vegetable Seeds
* Funk Seed Intl.
* Rogers Bros.
* Zaadunie BV (Neth.)
* McNair Seed
* Cokers Pedigreed
* Fredonia
* Hilleshog
* Agritrading
* CC Benoist
* Maisadour Semences
* Eridania Beghin-Soy
* Golden Harvest (6/04)
* Dia-Engei (Japan) 2/04
* CHS Research LLC (04)
* GA21 (technology) (04)

Devgen - Sept-07

Delta & Pine Land(Monsanto) Subsidiaries (as of November 2005)
ATLED
D&M INTERNATIONAL, LLC
D&M PARTNERS
D&PL ARGENTINA, INC.
D&PL CHINA, INC.
D&PL CHINA PTE, LTD.
D&PL INVESTING CORP.
D&PL INVESTMENTS, INC.
DELTAPINE PARAGUAY, INC.
D&PL SOUTH AFRICA, INC.
D&PL INTERNATIONAL TECHNOLOGY CORP.
DELTA PINE DE MEXICO S. DE R.L. DE C.V.
DELTAPINE AUSTRALIA PTY. LIMITED
GREENFIELD SEED COMPANY, LLC
HEBEI JI DAI COTTONSEED TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, LTD. (CHINA)
PAYMASTER TECHNOLOGY CORP.
TURK DELTAPINE, INC. (TURKEY)
D&PL SEMILLAS LTDA. (COSTA RICA)
CDM MANDIYU S.R.L. (ARGENTINA)
DELTA AND PINE LAND HELLAS MONOPROSOPI, E.P.E. (GREECE)
D&PL BRASIL, LTDA.
ANHUI AN DAI COTTONSEED TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, LTD. (CHINA)
D&PL TECHNOLOGY HOLDING COMPANY LLC.
D&M BRASIL ALGODAO, LTDA
MDM SEMENTES DE ALGODAO LTDA (BRAZIL)
SURE GROW, LLC
D&PL INDIA, LLC
DELTAPINE INDIA SEED PRIVATE LTD. (INDIA)
D&PL MAURITIUS LIMITED

Companies Owned or Licensed By DuPont:
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Intl. (USA)
* Pioneer Argentina S.A.
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Australia Pty Ltd
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Services GmbH (Austria)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Northern Europe (Belgium)
* Pioneer Sementes Ltda. (Brazil)
* Pioneer Semena Bulgaria
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Limited (Canada)
* Semillas Pioneer Chile Ltda.
* Shandong Denghai-PIONEER Seeds (China)
* DuPont de Colombia S.A.
* Pioneer Sjeme d.o.o. (Croatia)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Services (Czech Rep.)
* Misr Pioneer Seed Company (Egypt)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds (Ethiopia)
* Pioneer Semences SAS (France)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred N. Europe (Germany
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Hellas (Greece)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Magyarország Kft. (Hungary)
* PHI Seeds Ltd. (India)
* PT DuPont Indonesia
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Italia
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Japan
* Farmchem Seedlinks Limited (Kenya)
* Chemicals & Marketing Co. (Malawi)
* PHI Mexico SA de CV
* Pioneer Hi-Bred N. Europe (Neth.)
* Genetic Technologies, Ltd. (New Zealand)
* Pioneer Pakistan Seed Ltd
* Melo & Cia, C.A. (Panama)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Philippines
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Services GmbH (Poland)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Sementes de Portugal
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Puerto Rico
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Seeds Agro (Romania)
* Pioneer Semena Holding GmbH (Russia)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Services (Serbia & Montenegro)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Slovensko (Slovakia)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Services (Slovenia)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred RSA (South Africa)
* South Korea O.M.C.
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Spain SL
* Bytrade Tanzania Limited
* Pioneer Hi-Bred (Thailand) Co.
* Pioneer Tohumculuk (Turkey)
* Pioneer Nasinnya Ukraine, LLC
* Pioneer Hi-Bred N. Europe (UK)
* Agar Cross Uruguaya S.A
* Semillas Pioneer de Venezuela
* Farmchem Services Ltd. (Zambia)
* Pioneer Hi-Bred Zimbabwe

Companies Owned by Land O Lakes (USA)

* Croplan Genetics
* Hytest Seeds
* Agriliance (joint venture with CHS, Inc.)
* ABI Alfalfa
* Seed Research of Oregon
* Pickseed Companies Group
* Seeds Ohio
* Forage Genetics Inc.

Land O’ Lakes is a giant agribusiness cooperative with total sales of $7,700 million. The company’s 2004 seed sales were $538 million, specializing in alfalfa, maize, soybeans and forage and turf grasses. About one-half of the seed sold by Land O’Lakes is purchased from Monsanto & Syngenta and then sold to coops.

Seed Companies Owned or Licensed by Dow Chemical:
* Mycogen
* Agrigenetics
* Cargill Hybrid Seeds
* United Agriseeds
* Morgan Seeds (Argentina)
* Kelten & Lynks
* Delta & Pine Land (corn & sorghum only)
* Dinamilho Carol Productos (Brazil)
* Hibridos Colorado Ltda. (Brazil)
* FT Biogenetica de Milho (Brazil)
* Phytogen (w/J.G. Boswell)
* Empresa Brasileira de Sementes (Brazil)

Companies Owned or Licensed by NOVARTIS INTERNATIONAL, AG
NOVARTIS SEEDS, INC.
Northrup King Co.
Novartis NK, Inc

Companies Owned or Licensed by ASTRAZENECA, PLC
ZENECA, INC.
GARST SEED COMPANY
AGRIPRO SEEDS, INC.

Recycling Cans and Bottles is the Beginning

2008-06-28T10:05:00.000-07:00

Top five reasons to recycle your aluminum recycling

Recycling is great but re-use is much much better. Recycling a can may save 95% of the energy but reusing a glass bottle approaches 99% energy savings. American companies are very spoiled by disposable packaging because they do not have to pay for the recovery processes. Coke Corp doesn't pay to recover aluminum or plastic so they really do not care whether we buy plastic bottles or aluminum cans--the cost is about the same for them while recycling centers and individuals shoulder the costs and efforts to keep these out of the landfills. If they were forced to go back to returnable glass bottles the cost to them would be around 2 cents per bottle and they are adamantly against this even though it would drastically lower energy use in the beverage industry.

The idea of a whole industry built around putting sugar and chemicals into bottles and cans is repulsive to me. There are a lot of better uses for for the 150 quarts of sugar water each American consumes each year.

If America drank water instead of soda, each American would:
Have 50 gallons more fuel for their cars,
Have an average of 1 less visit to a Doctor or Dentist,
Lose 17 pounds from the reduced calories,
Would keep 450 bottles and cans out of the waste stream.

Recycling is the Beginning. Intelligent Consumption is the Future.

How Much Does It Cost?

2008-06-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

6 Real Costs that are not included in the Price of Consumer Goods.

1) Pollution at the site of the materials origin. Water, air and ground pollution as a direct result of mining and plastics manufacturing and refining.

3) Landfill space and illegal dumping. Manufacturing processes cause huge wastes that must be landfilled for centuries or more commonly, just left where they are dropped.

6) End of cycle disposal. Once a gadget is done being used it must be disposed of and possibly recycled by poorly paid workers who are once again exposed to all kinds of nasty chemicals. (1)

"I can afford to drive any auto I want to..."

2008-05-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

"I can afford to drive any auto I want to..." I would like to remind the rest of us that rich people get their money from the middle class and the poor. In every industry, the key to wealth includes:

1) Keep employee wages and benefits low. (Who grows the food you eat? When you eat a $50 meal out, how much of it goes to your server?---most areas have rules that keep server wages under $10 per hour INCLUDING EXPECTED TIPS--if you don't tip, the server may be working for nothing at all.)

2) Keep product costs down. (How many patches do we need for Vista? What toys have lead paint? How many Walmarts* are there in the world? Why is the Lug-Nut Rule* still the best way to drive? Why haven't we separated freeways between City Cars and Transports??? )

3) Substitute lower cost ingredients whenever possible. (Coke says, "real sugar is too expensive....corn sweetener is good enough...aspartame is even better....darn, we really miss cyclomates*!")

4) Shift the blame whenever possible...back to the victim is best! (Thousands of farmers in India* have committed suicide after crop failures left them horribly in debt due to Monsanto Bt seeds that didn't produce as claimed. Monsanto claims the farmers didn't plant the seeds correctly as directed on the bags, "in perfectly clear ENGLISH." Pork and Beef farmers in the US have been bankrupted when GM crops have caused sterility in livestock---guess what??? Those same GM crops are showing up in 90% of the white flour on the US market and 75% of the soy products on the US market. Monsanto and BASF both deny any changes in fertility rates but Monsanto gives a large discount on rBGH* to farmers that also buy GM corn or GM soy seeds.)

5) Hedge Funds are the best investment, some of these funds are returning 20-25% on investments when the middle class is lucky to get 2% on their savings--minimum buy in for a hedge fund is $500,000(in cash.) Hedge Funds are a gambling system that bets on the price of food tomorrow or next year...the more they bet...the more money the investors make...and the higher the prices go. If you want a scape-goat for high oil or food prices....blame the 50 Million Americans who own Mutual Funds....they are the ones that are driving the price of oil, wheat, corn, soy, and rice out of reason. Next year they will switch over to beef, pork, and dairy products....expect the price of those to skyrocket!

6) Long term risk is worth the short term profits. (Monsanto gave the world Agent Orange*, swearing that it was completely safe for Humans. In the early years, a spokesman for Monsanto actually ate a spoonful of Agent Orange during his sales pitch for the product to show how safe it was. --Ask your nearest Vietnam Vet about this....the Army showed films of this event to the crews that were spraying the chemical over Vietnam.--- Monsanto eventually paid a relatively small fine to Americans who suffered as a result of this but the Vietnamese never got a dime of compensation. Also, LOVE CANAL*, MONSANTO ROUNDUP ILLNESS*, GM FOOD ILLNESS, ROUNDUP READY COCAINE)

The list goes on and on....and I say that the more you rely on processed foods and chemicals, the more you put yourself and your family at the mercy of people who just don't care at all what might happen to you in the future. If you think this isn't the case...please Google "Revolving Door FDA" and then e-mail me your ideas that the government is really trying to help and protect us.

*Just Google it! The information is everywhere if you take the time to look!

The Myth of the Population Bomb

2008-05-28T09:42:00.000-07:00

I am reading a lot about population problems and how to slow down the growth of population but every story seems to point the finger at a certain group that is producing too many children. Boil down any story and they seem to be saying there are too many of the "wrong" kind of people....too many Indians, too many Chinese....too many Africans....too many Muslims...too many Catholics....too many (insert any group besides your own)...

That kind of Racist Thinking is not going to help solve the problem at all.

Look at the raw numbers...6.5 Billion people. Move each and every one of them to the State of Florida. Each person would have 292 square feet.

Move every person in the world to the US and we would each have 1/3 of an acre of land.

Number of people is nowhere close to being a problem. The problem is greed....the idea that some people deserve more than other people. When resources are averaged there is plenty for all and then some, but when resources are hoarded by the few elite then, there isn't enough left to support the rest.

Western countries grab massive amounts of resources and use them up as fast as we can get them for useless and frivolous reasons. Gourmet PET FOOD? 5000 square foot homes??? 30 Billion dollar Diet and Fitness industry???

Even in Third World countries, 90% of the resources go to the elite leaving the poor to starve. The problem isn't the number of people...it is that a few people use too much.

Just once I would like to see "Retro-active Abortion" suggested as a method of population control. Start with the dictators that use guns to hoard resources, follow up with the world's elite that waste the most and work our way down the list until everyone who is left has enough. Wiping out the top 1 Million Resource Pigs would make room for another 10 billion more earth friendly people.

Cheap and Healthy...Pass the Tofu!

2008-05-20T17:37:00.000-07:00

Faux MorningStar Veggie Bites
aka Broccoli Cheddar Bites.

As a recently converted vegetarian, I am always on the look out for acceptable and tasty vegetarian products. I tried MorningStar Veggie Bites this week and my family liked them just fine. Glancing at the box gave me a start though! The 40+ ingredients listed read like a bag of Cheetos!

Broccoli Cheddar Bites.
Ingredients:
14 ounces extra firm tofu/drain, mince and press out as much liquid as possible.
2 cups frozen broccoli/ thawed and minced
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese or cheddar soy.
1 teaspoon Johnny's Seasoning Salt(Increase to 2 tsp if you like a little more salt.)
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
3 eggs or egg replacement
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons of pure cane sugar (about 1/3 of what is in the original)

Mix together until well distributed. Add enough white or whole wheat flour to make a stiff batter-about 3/4 cup.

Form batter into ping pong sized balls, flatten slightly and coat each side with bread crumbs. Place patties on an oiled baking sheet so that they are not touching. Spray the tops of the patties with cooking spray. Pre-Bake for 5 minutes at 400 degrees.

Cool and freeze until needed. Makes about 32 patties. 3 patties=270 calories.

To use: Take out desired number and bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes until hot through and golden brown. Flip halfway through baking.

This is a good recipe to double or triple as most of the effort is in the first stage.

This recipe could be made using just about any combination of cooked veggie and cheese:

Portabella Mushroom, Red pepper and mozzarella
Corn & Smoked Swiss
Bell Pepper, Onion and Pepper Jack

Experiment and come back with your comments!

Gas Price Predictions-How bad can it get?

2008-05-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

Oil hit $100 per bbl on Feb 20,2008. Many economists predict the price will rise to $200/bbl in less than 2 years. After looking at the trends for the last 3 months, I want to go on the record and predict $200/bbl on or before Jan 5th, 2009.

Edits:
May 22,2008 $135
May 26th Dr. Robert Hirsch agrees with my prediction.
June 27, 2008 $140
July 1st, 2008 144.25 (Price is lagging behind my prediction at the point.)
July 6th, 2008 Russian Expert says $250 within an year.
July 22, 2008 A little dip in the market to 130.23...has brought gas prices down 1 cent!

I am basing this on oil's continued price gains, on average, $0.31 per day since Feb 20,2008. At that growth rate it will take 235 days for it to reach $200. This will raise the price of a gallon of gas to between $7.50 and $8.00 USD. The greatest price increases will come toward the end of the year as the Outgoing President and his cronies take all the profit they can squeeze out before the Newly Elected President can take over on Tuesday, January 20th,2009. (1)

Natural disasters and/or another American invasion of a foreign country could raise the price of oil even higher.

I predict the following Major Changes as a result of dramatically higher gas prices:

1) Reduction in the national speed limit from 70 mph to 50 mph or 55 mph. (1)

2) We will have a resurgence of interest in "Buy American" as people scramble to support American Made and American Grown products.

3) More people will grow a portion of their own food and more people will focus on locally grown food.
As of May 2008, farmer's market prices are leveling out with supermarket prices on fresh in-season vegetables-more people are buying local produce than ever before. (1)

4) Food Rioting around the world will increase exponentially as the gap between rich and poor widens.

5) Worldwide GM crop failures due to the reduction in availability and high cost of petroleum based fertilizers, on which GM crops are heavily dependent. (1) (2) (3)

6) Materials previously considered "garbage" will become valuable enough to incite theft and crime. (1) (2) (3) (6) Used Oil (4) (5) And, previously safe public works & art will be stolen and trashed. Bronze Grave Markers John Wadden's Art Catalytic Converters will disappear with amazing efficiency. (1)

7) SUV's will become unsaleable as people scramble to buy smaller more fuel efficient transport. (1) (2)

8) Many companies and governments will switch to 4 day work weeks. (1) This will be good for companies and workers. Companies will be able to save about 20% on energy operating costs, and workers will save 20% on their work related fuel and food costs.

I will come back and update this post as new information becomes available.

Food Buyer Beware....THEY Know How We Shop!

2008-05-14T12:08:00.000-07:00

Some weird things are going on lately with food prices, at least at Safeway! I am making out my weekly shopping list and I have come across some interesting discrepancies.

I always shop the sales and one thing I like about Safeway is that you can shop online and get groceries delivered without being tempted to buy every thing in the store. I can just shop from my list and only my list. Safeway.com even lets you sort similar items by price to get the best deal.

So here I am looking at different grocery options and I find my first new discrepancy. Powdered milk has long been a staple in the Frugal Kitchen so imagine my surprise at $17.69 for a box of store brand powdered milk (44 cents per pint) verses store brand 2% at $2.99 (37 cents per pint)! How is that possible? Powdered milk has never, in my memory, been more expensive than fresh milk! We use about 1 gallon of milk per day so that is $204 per year difference! I just noticed this today and since I have ordered the store brand powdered without thinking I wonder how much this has cost me in the last year? $204 extra on my grocery bill for buying what has always been the cheapest product until now?? When did this change actually happen?

My interest is peaked and I look at other "cheap" staples.

Rice and beans are the cheapest in the largest bags right? Wrong! Pearl barley, yellow split peas and small white beans are the cheapest in 1 pound bags. Pinto beans are the cheapest(84 cents per pound) in the 10 pound bag compared to 95 cents per pound in a 20 pound bag. Rice is cheaper in 20 pound bags(46 cents per pound) than 25 pound bags (55 cents per pound). The cheapest package of rice at Safeway is $1.25 for a 1 pound bag...nearly 3 times higher than the 20 pound bag. Even a 2 pound bag is dramatically cheaper at 1.99($1 per pound)

Frozen veggies are cheaper than canned or fresh right?
Wrong again! Frozen corn is $1.30 per pound while canned corn is $0.63 per pound. Fresh corn is 5/$1.00 or about 80 cents a pound. Canned peas are 63 cents per pound, frozen peas are $1.30 per pound. Canned spinach is $1.51 per pound, fresh is $1.79 and frozen is $2.50. Again, I have been fooled by the old Frugal Wisdom.

Tuna is cheap? Not any more! Canned salmon is, on average, 10 cents per pound cheaper than tuna.

Has Safeway finally found our weakness in our sheer aversion to comparing prices on our own? 99% of all Frugal Living sites will repeat the old "Powdered/Frozen/Big Bags" as the way to get the cheapest foods and now Safeway has found a way to cash in on it by raising the prices on the styles and package sizes that automatically attract the Frugal Shoppers!

Sadly, I noticed that in nearly all basic food groups the food marketed to African Americans, Hispanics and Asians were almost always higher in price than the same product in universal packaging.

Examples:
Safeway/Vons Canned Spinach - 14 Oz $1.32
Sylvia's Southern Style Spinach Greens - 14.5 Oz $2.45

O Organic Black Beans - 15 Oz 99 cents
S&W Mexican Style Black Beans (Hispanic Food Aisle)- 15 Oz $1.49

Fiesta Garbanzo Beans-(Hispanic Foods Aisle) 16 Oz $1.79
O Organic Garbanzo Beans - (canned veggie aisle) 16 Oz $1.09

Goya Dry Chick Peas (Eastern Foods aisle) 16 Oz $2.69
Fiesta Dry Garbanzo Beans (Hispanic Foods Aisle) 16 Oz $1.76
Safeway/Vons Garbanzo Beans -(Pasta aisle) 16 Oz $1.13

Dear Trader Joe

2008-04-26T13:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Joe or Authorized Representative,

I love my local Trader Joe's. The store is bright and clean, crew members are friendly and knowledgeable, and the food is fabulous! Still, I find myself limiting my visits due to concerns about packaging. I find it confusing that I get a great re-usable paper bag filled to the top with non-recyclable plastics. Plastic are a great concern to me, so I do not buy any veggies at your store and find myself appalled by sheer volume of plastic on everything else.

Here in the Seattle area, we have a good but limited plastic recycling system and other than plastic bottles, very little of the plastics I get from your store can be placed in the bins.

Trader Joe's is so great at being environmentally friendly in other areas but this area also needs to be addressed.

I would like to see more items offered in standard canning-style glass jars. More and more of us are doing some home canning so many of the jars would be reused many times.

I would like to see more products packaged in compostable plastics. Packages that are clearly marked, "Suitable for compost bin recycling" would be a great comfort to me.

I would like to see more products including your lovely baby veggies packaged in reusable "Tupperware" style packaging.

I would like to see more products packaged in consumer reusable containers. Something I can use the contents, slip off the label and reuse. For example: Playtex Chubs Stackable Baby Wipes. These come in a re-fillable box that is also a giant Lego that can be played with for years and then recycled.

And, I would LOVE to see Trader Joe's switch to more "returnable" packaging that could be taken back to the factory and refilled.

I would also love to see more regionally produced products. My great disappointment of my last TJ's shopping trip: TJ's Spanish White Beans with Vegetables from Spain. I will never buy this product again no matter how healthy and delicious it is. The only part of the packaging that is recyclable here in Seattle is the cardboard sleeve. The tray and plastic film are trash. And, the idea of shipping cooked beans from Spain is ridiculous. I know that dealing with large companies helps to make your products consistent but Spain??? Maybe you can get the same thing in a dehydrated version and sell it in paper packaging---just add water or maybe just sell the Sofrito sauce in a big jar to flavor beans with, made in Washington State if possible. Until I see something like that, I am done with this particular product.

Alas, Dear Trader Joe, even though your goods are really, really good, I will have to limit my trips to your store to just the basic necessities.

Falafel Anyone???

2008-04-18T12:33:00.000-07:00

Falafel is beginning to go mainstream in the US and it's about time! Anyone who enjoys hush puppies or refried beans should also like falafel since they are all basically the same thing: fried dough!

Most people will try the boxed falafel mix because it is so much easier than making it from scratch and while I agree that making falafel from scratch is more work, I do it because 1) mine is better than the boxed, and 2) mine is much less expensive! $2.00 for a batch of falafel is robbery! LOL! The recipe below hints as to how often I make traditional falafel....

Another good reason to make falafel from scratch is that you can adapt it to your personal preferences. We regularly enjoy Hybrid Falafel, which is the regular stuff with any number of additives:

Make a batch of Traditional Falafel and divide in half. Mix 1 cup of ground turkey with 1/2 of the falafel and then form into balls, fry and add to spaghetti sauce for spaghetti & meatballs.

Sautee 1 cup of finely chopped mushrooms and add them to a batch of falafel, then fry as usual.

Crumble a batch of falafel into a frying pan and brown well in place of the hamburger in Hamburger Helper.

Form your falafel ball around a cube of cheese and fry as usual.

Traditional Falafel
First make your "Vickie's Quickie Falafel Spice Mix":

4 Cups flour
3/4 Cup minced onion
3/4 Cup Italian 7 Spice
1/4 Cup garlic powder
1/4 Cup cumin
1/4 Cup baking powder
1/4 Cup Vegeta(Baltic Seasoning Salt) or salt

Mix everything together well and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 7 cups of mix or enough for about 28 batches.

For the beans I use the #10 can of garbanzo beans ($2.09 at my local restaurant supply store. Enough for 7 batches of Falafel.) Measure out the beans into 1 quart ziptop bags--2 cups of drained beans per bag. Freeze these until you are ready to use them.

To make falafel: defrost 1 bag of beans and crush them right in the bag. I use the bottom of a mug to do this.If you are using dried beans-soak 1 cup of beans over night. Or, you can use 1 15 oz can. When the beans are all mashed up, add 1/2 of a medium onion(finely chopped)(about 1/2 cup) and 1/4 of a cup of the Falafel Spice Mix. Mix together well and form into balls the size of a golf ball. Flatten slightly and fry until golden brown on both sides.

Only fry what you want for a single meal. Mixture may be kept in the fridge for up to a week.

By doing Falafel this way I can make a batch from freezer to table in 10-15 mins for about 50 cents a batch.

Hummus Nachos

Make a batch of the Traditional Falafel from canned beans but instead of draining the beans use the liquid too. Stir everything together well and place into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 2-3 minutes until it is cooked through. Stir the mixture often while it is cooling. Spoon over tortilla chips, top with cheese and bake until the cheese is melted. Serve with salsa. YUM!

The Age of the Food Economy.

2008-03-29T12:26:00.000-07:00

Google "Food Riots" and get to see the stories coming in from Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Cameroon, Thailand, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, Haiti, and many other countries as people scramble to find food for their families. Commodity prices have risen 25-50% around the world. Each year more grain crops have been diverted into ethanol production and the practice has finally hit the tipping point: people are starving and food is being sold to the highest bidder. The highest bidder, of course, is the fuel production industry where a pound of corn can be converted to fuel with a 50% profit margin.

In the past 10 years we have all been exposed to the vegetarian idea that it takes 8 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. Here is a new and more disturbing idea: it takes 450 pounds of corn to make 1 gallon of ethanol. If eating meat for a day means that 7 other people go hungry that day, then using 1 gallon of ethanol means that 449 people will go hungry that day for EVERY GALLON OF FUEL USED. Use 3 gallons....1347 people go hungry....Fill up an SUV tank....near 9000 people go to bed with an empty stomach. Even if you only fill up with 10% Ethanol Blend (10EB), you directly contribute to 900 people going hungry.

American know we need to move away from petroleum products and we have invested billions of dollars trying to do that, but ethanol is like many other "Green" ideas I have seen recently....FAKE GREEN. I seen the beginning of this movement and made a very accurate prediction more than 20 years ago, "People will starve to keep American cars on the road." When I first predicted that many of my Peak Oil friends laughed it off. 20 years ago no one thought that it would ever be worth turning corn into fuel...it was just too expensive to even think about. Yet, here we are....the fuel industry is actually willing to pay MORE for corn than the food industry can afford.

Ethanol, and most the the rest of the "Green" movement is powered by the same motivation that lead to Love Canal, Hanford, strip-mining and deforestation...GREED. BP isn't getting on the Ethanol band-wagon because they want to "do the right thing." BP is making money. Toyota isn't producing hybrid cars because it wants to save the Earth, they are doing it to make money.

And these companies are making money like crazy....billions of dollars in profits, driven by GREED with little thought to their impact to future generations. It doesn't matter what 3rd world population suffers starvation, or mercury poisoning, or birth defects as long as the stock-holders get a good return on their investment.

The problems with this wild GREED are just starting to come to light: people in poor nations are starving. American farmers have turned away from traditional crops to grow for higher profits. The USA now imports 50% of our food crops from other countries and that number is expected to rise to 90% by 2012. That prediction may not work out though if the people growing all those fresh fruits and veggies for us can't afford wheat, corn or rice for themselves. The lag time between grain shortages in Mexico, Chile, and China will be 1 to 2 years at the most, then we will see fresh produce skyrocket at the supermarket. 50% increase in the price of corn will be a small thing compared to 200-300% increases in the price of fresh foods we depend on in the US.

When reading the news of food shortages and price increases in other countries, keep in mind that those increases directly affect the wholesale cost of growing food to send back to us and by the time our food finally gets to the market the cost is going to be astronomical.

I am thinking of growing a little more in my garden this year and much more next year. I don't know when fresh foods are going to become un-affordable but I can guarantee that it is just a matter of time.

Dieting on a Budget

2008-03-14T12:06:00.000-07:00

It has been noted that many poor people are also obese. There are many reasons for this but the number 1 reason is that healthy food can be a lot more expensive than "regular food." Really this is a matter of perception because some of the healthiest foods are also quite cheap: rice, beans, pasta, root vegetables, corn meal. Frozen vegetables are always available and are very cheap when on sale. Once we leave the store our perceptions kick in and if we are well-to-do we serve up pilaf, steamed root vegetable medley or polenta. If we come from a background of poverty we will probably be serving up red beans and rice, mashed potatoes and gravy, and cornbread or hush puppies. Same ingredients, same cost, different perceptions.

Put your kitchen on a diet: Clean out 1 cupboard and 1 drawer in the fridge. Put the healthy foods in those and use the other less healthy foods sparingly or better yet clean all the junk out of your kitchen and start over. Junk includes liquid and solid fat(cooking spray is ok and extra virgin olive oil is ok if you use if for what it is meant for---not for deep frying!) Sugar is out. Baking Mix is out. Boxed Mac n' Cheese and Rice a Roni is out. Stuffing Mix is out. Baking supplies are out. American cheese, Velveeta, canned cheese are all out. Spam, canned corn beef and vienna sausages are out. Canned ham is out. The average food-stamp recipient has over $100 worth of junk food in their cupboard--use it up and stop buying it!

Learn to eat better: Stop buying greasy, salty, sugary foods and replace them with healthier alternatives. If you are worried about healthier foods costing more then eat less. Make portions smaller so the cost evens out per meal or make 1 meal a day super-super low cost.

5 Healthy Low Cost Meals:
(Remember-these are not meant to be your whole diet. These are ideas to help us eat healthier and still stay on budget.)

Brown Rice for breakfast. Eat all you want as long as it is brown rice with nothing but SweetNLow & a bit of milk. Buy brown rice in large bags to save even more money. 2 cups for breakfast is a huge meal for about 400 calories that costs around 30 cents.

Baked Potatoes: Bake a few potatoes and keep them in the fridge for cheap healthy food. Reheat and top with low fat salad dressing or butter salt(like the kind for popcorn) or slice into 1/8ths and re-bake for tasty Jo-Jos. 2 fist sized potatoes are about 400 calories for 20-30 cents.

Cabbage Soup: This is the mainstay of many fast weight loss diets and is very cheap too. Steam a couple of wedges(1/4 of a whole cabbage) in a broth of chicken bullion or veggie bullion. Tasty and cheap! Add other veggies that you have on hand to make this a more elaborate meal. 1/4 of a cabbage is about 40 cents and 50 calories.

Ramen Quiche: cook 1 package of ramen noodles WITHOUT the salt package. Drain the noodles and pack into a loaf pan (4 inches x 8 inches x 3 inches) Drain 1 can of spinach or other cooked greens-mix in 1 large egg, 1 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of pepper and 1/2 cup of cottage cheese or 1/4 cup of feta cheese or 1/4 cup of cream cheese or 1/2 cup of shredded hard cheese(2 ounces). Pour this mixture over the Ramen and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until browned on top. This feeds 2 people for $1.25 and 400 calories each.

A New Reason to Grow Your Own Veggies

2008-03-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

We all know that food growers constantly try to "Improve" their crops but the commercial grower's idea of improvements usually include: more plants per acre, faster growth, bigger produce, more uniformity in the produce and longer storage tolerance. The one thing that NEVER enters the equation is nutritional content. In fact, the quality of nutrition in commercial foods has been steadily declining since the USDA first started keeping nutritional content records in the 1940's. Periodic updates to these records show that produce available in grocery stores may contain only half the vitamins and minerals compared to the produce grown and tested in the 1940's. Even worse, the USDA hasn't required food companies to update the nutritional information on food labeling and most food is still labeled using the oldest nutritional information rather than the more accurate but much lower numbers.

I recently pulled a can of spinach out of my cabinet to compare to the USDA food value tables and found the label showed 50% more Potassium, 30% more protein, and 40% more vitamin A than the current USDA food tables for canned spinach. It would be nice to think that Popeye Spinach took pride in beating the USDA averages but really they are just using very old information to make their product look much better than it probably is.

Interestingly, the USDA also shows 20% more calories than the can label and a higher Carbohydrates From Sugar level. This is also a current trend: nearly all fruits and vegetables in the grocery store have higher sugar contents than their 1940 counterpart. The reason for this is that higher sugar levels in produce make the fruits and vegetables more resistant to cold in the fields and help them store better in cold storage. Lower sugar fruits and vegetables tend to be more susceptible to freezing and has a higher spoilage rate in storage.

From World Watch Jan-Feb 2008 Worldwatch Institute

Farmers today can grow two to three times as much grain, fruit, and vegetables on a plot of land as they could 50 years ago, but the nutritional quality of many crops has declined, according to a new report from The Organic Center, a group based in Boulder, Colorado.

In Still No Free Lunch, report author and Worldwatch Institute food expert Brian Halweil notes that today's food contains 10 to 25 percent less iron, zinc, protein, calcium, vitamin C, and other nutrients than it did historically. Researchers from Washington State University who analyzed 63 spring wheat cultivars grown between 1842 and 2003 found an 11 percent decline in iron content, a 16 percent decline in copper, a 25 percent decline in zinc, and a 50 percent decline in selenium.

"Less nutrient-dense foods, coupled with poor food choices, go a long way toward explaining today's epidemics of obesity and diabetes," says The Organic Center's chief scientist, Charles Benbrook.

Plants cultivated to produce higher yields tend to have less energy for other activities like growing deep roots and generating phytochemicals (health-promoting compounds like antioxidants), the report explains. And conventional farming methods, such as close plant spacing and the application of chemical inputs, can cause crops to absorb fewer nutrients and have unhealthy root systems.

Using organic methods, on the other hand, means plants "develop more robust root systems that more aggressively absorb nutrients from the soil profile, and produce crops with higher concentrations of valuable nutrients and phytochemicals," says Benbrook. Organic food may have up to 20 percent higher nutritional content for some minerals and 30 percent more antioxidants on average than conventional fare, the report concludes.

Update: August 21, 2008 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Health regulators have approved the use of ionizing radiation for fresh spinach and lettuce, saying the technique already approved for other foods can help control harmful bacteria and other pathogens.(story)

References:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/emma_holister/2004/12/12/the_disappearing_nutrients_in_americas.htm

http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/index.cfm?action=news&ID=71
http://www.medilexicon.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=17168&language=spanish

The Tragedy of the Commons

2008-02-15T10:26:00.000-08:00

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the Tragedy, you can read about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

The idea is very basic: When humans are given a resource that is available to anyone who takes it, humans will take all of it as soon as possible without thought to the consequences or the future.

For example: What would happen if a suitcase full of cash was spilled above a major freeway? The cash showers down on the drivers....and disaster! The greed of the people involved would completely override their sense of safety and fair play. People would be killed, cars wrecked, and traffic jammed up for miles. The cost of the damage done would be much higher than the potential profit from grabbing the cash, yet humans do not think that way, and so it is with nearly every facet of human society.

Commercial Fishing: Huge fleets of fishing vessels hit international waters every year taking as much as they possibly can and wasting 25-50% of what they catch. There are some minor controls placed on the fisheries but over all the ships operate outside the jurisdiction of individual countries and far enough away to literally get away with murder. Whole areas of the oceans have been fished and overfished until they are devoid of life. The ships move on and leave wreckage in their wake. The Japanese fleet kills hundreds of whales in the name of research and sells the meat to be used in school lunch programs. The Gulf Coast Shrimp industry uses gigantic nets that scoop up every living thing in 200' wide swaths. When the net is full it is brought onto the deck and the shrimp are sorted out of the turtles, dolphins and any other marine life that got in the way. An average netting can yield 10% shrimp and 90% waste that is dead and dumped back into the Gulf of Mexico. No one controls the seas so everyone takes as much as possible.

When does it become "Our Problem"???? http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002657147_fishwaste01m.html
http://news.mongabay.com/2005/1201-oceana.html

Plastics Industry: Recycle is the catchphrase when it comes to plastics and it makes the manufacturers and consumers of plastics look fairly innocent and eco-minded. Truth is that very little plastic is getting recycled and a large portion of plastics that enter our lives is not recyclable at all. Everyday, each American uses dozens of pieces of plastic. We can shout recycle until doomsday but it doesn't change the fact that 90% of the plastic we handle is not recyclable by current methods. Plastic bottle are recyclable but the lock rings and caps are not. Clam-shell packages are not. Plastic food wrap is not. Bic pens(and most other small 'plastic implements') are not. Plastic toys are not. The list of "Not Recyclable" is much longer than the list of what is. So why do we still use these kinds of plastic, even knowing that they can not be recycled? Because it is cheaper and companies still make profits from it. No one cares where it ends up, because, at least in the US, it is kept out of sight and therefore it isn't our problem.

When does it become "Our Problem"????
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/the-worlds-rubbish-dump-a-garbage-tip-that-stretches-from-hawaii-to-japan-778016.html
http://www.abc.net.au/news/photos/2007/12/06/2112059.htm
UK Fishermen

CFL's and Ecology: Most "Green" websites and companies state that "Replacing 1 light bulb with a Compact Florescent Bulb" is the easiest way to cut your Carbon Footprint. But at what cost? In the US (according to 18seconds.org) 134,475,214 CFLs have been purchased in the last 14 months. Each bulb contains 5-6 mg of mercury. That is : ((134 475 214 * .005) / 28) / 16 = 1500.83944 Pounds of Mercury every year.

In order to keep up with the demand, China has lowered their pollution standards for mercury mining and many areas are quickly showing signs of mercury poisoning. Mercury emissions from mining operations are spreading around the world so we have no idea if we are actually cutting down the mercury totals or not. And in the US, only about 15% of all florescent bulbs are actually being collected for recycling which means 1275 Pounds of mercury is being added to landfills every year. 5 mg is such a small amount that it is easily defended as "being a better alternative" and that statement is being made on nearly every website in defense of CFL's but the hard facts will catch up with us in the future. It is easy as an individual to dismiss the consequences of CFLs, after all, "I only have 10 of them in my home and one or 2 in the trash isn't going to make a difference." "The Trash" is another "Commons" that is abused everyday. Trash goes somewhere and is a huge, but relatively, unseen problem.

When does this become "Our Problem"????
http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/esthag/40/i12/html/061506feature_jiang.html
http://discovermagazine.com/2005/mar/our-preferred-poison/

Product Review: www.Spadester.com

2007-11-25T11:14:00.000-08:00

As many of you may know, I am a huge online Spades Player. I recently went looking on the internet for a new place to find a challenging game and I came across www.spadester.com. Spadester claims to have (as of today) Over 4350 players at their tables. That sounded great to me so I signed up and played a few games to get the feel of it. (While I was playing I did notice that the whole game site only had 120 players total online so the 4350 number is completely wrong, maybe even fraudulent.) The play was ok, nice quick games but the level of play was on par with playing the robots in Yahoo Spades. No real challenges and I took the win on 8 games out of 10 games played. The cool-sounding thing about this site is that you can play for cash! I figured that with a win ratio of 8/10 games, I should be able to win some serious cash on this site.

I have never been one to give my credit card over the internet without assurance that it is a secure site. That is when www.spadester.com fell apart. The website is owned by a company in Cyprus, and for anyone who knows anything about credit cards and the internet, this is a huge red flag. Giving out your credit card to a Cyprus company is legally equal to giving your credit card to one of the 419 Nigirian scammers that say you have inherited 22 million bux. It is just not a good idea no matter how small the amount. And, if you look at the terms of service, you will see Section 4.3 states: "You agree that the Site is not liable for any loss caused by any unauthorized use of your credit card or other method of payment by a third party in connection with the Site." RED FLAG!

They do also take PayPal which is a little safer so I continued to check out the site. I noticed that when I played partners, I paid a fee of say, .50c, and the payout is $1.50 but in actuality a win only returns .50c to my account. With 4 players paying .50c and the total being paid out is only $1.00 so Spadester is taking 50% of every game played as pairs? Even 25% is very steep for a gaming site but 50% is out of reason. All of the Partners game paid out this way. I looked for an explanation of the rules and payouts but couldn't find very much and what there is is very inconsistent. I concede that this is a new website, so this may just be a case of working the bugs out.

Something that is important to me as a spades player is clearly defined rules. 15 minutes worth of looking into the rules listed on spadester's game site and I realized that there is very little correlation between the games I have played and the rules listed on the site. The rules seem to have been taken from some other site and then not edited to match the games available on spadester. The rules mention 500 point games, 200 for blind nil and 10 bag penalties, the games offer 100-300 point games, 100 for blind nil, and 5 bag penalties. Those are some very big discrepancies in my game book.

Finally, after an hour on the site, I could not find a clear method of payout. A couple of places mentioned $20 minimum payout, another place mentioned checks being sent out on the 5th and 20th of the month. Without a clear system of payouts, I have to conclude that the company doesn't plan on making very many payouts.

Over all, at this time I have to give www.spadester.com a "Two Thumbs Down" for:
1) lack of fair play 50% house take is ridiculous even for an on-line gaming site.
2) lack of assurance for credit card safety.
3) Unclear rules of play
4) General "Shadiness" of the website and company.

If you just want to play spades, with fast games and no chat--this is a good site for you. Do not be tempted to play cash here...it would be cheaper and faster to just post your credit card number in the lobby of a Yahoo Spades room.

Update May 16, 2008:
Spadester.com is still a SCAM!
Recent comments found:
shoot19....I've got to agree with this. this is the biggest scam I've seen in a while.. they will take your money in a second and come up with excuses not to pay out, and then eventually they will just ignore you.. do a chargeback on your credit card.

kevolt.....As I wrote above, my withdrawal requests have been pending for many months. My emails have been ignored, except for a couple a weeks ago when I got a response from Julie S. (Customer Care) who say she'd expedite through Accounting. I waited a week, and nothing happened. The spadester chat seemed to be online, so I tried that. The chat person said they'd expedite and would send me an email. I then got an email from Cindy G. (Manager of Accounting) that said the problem would be taken care of. Now it's been another week, and still no money and still no change in the status of my withdrawal requests - they are all listed as pending with a status that still says just "Requested".

fyndet3....Hi!
I just want to give all a heads up about Spadester.com. I have tried to get a respons from them for about 2 months now. But still no answer. I am going to write about this in casinomeister since they dont respond to affiliates either who are trying to help me. Sad just think twice before depositing here!

It seems that even 4 months later, nothing has really changed.
Level of play seems to be approaching "Beginner" I played 8 games and won 6 so this is a slight improvement over my last visit. Note: I haven't been playing Spades at all in the last month so maybe I have slipped a little.
The website no longer claims 4000+ player online. My actual count today was around 400 on the PlayMoney side and about 200 on the RealMoney side.
Winning pots are better. The Site seems to be raking 10-12% but this may just be due to bad math skills more than greed as I did spot 1 table that was 9%.
Credit card security is still questionable. With no mailing address or support from any kind of "Verisign" group, I would be very very careful about giving any information at all. In an age of Identity Theft, any site that not only asks for my name and credit card but also my Social Security number and birth date raises some very real concerns. They are not taking PayPal anymore. Want to bet they got so many Charge-Backs that PayPal canceled them? If you do decide to try it, buy a rechargable visa gift card instead of a real credit card.

Still a generally fun site to play fast cards but still 2 thumbs down for over-all shadiness.

No matter what Saar claims, this site is not living up to their promises, has horrible customer service and when cash is involved, tightfisted and unresponsive.

June 27, 2008 Update
New withdrawl notes--- Higher minimums, more paperwork, more personal information needed, Longer waiting periods.

Withdrawal Information:

When making a withdrawal, Spadester will most likely request that players send a copy of the front of their credit cards (with only the last 4 digits showing) and a copy of their ID.
Documents can be sent via email to support@spadester.com
Players depositing with an Alternative Payment Method, and withdrawing with the same method may be asked to send in a copy of their ID/passport only.
Once players have sent their documents, and their accounts have been updated; players will not be required to do so again, unless they have registered a new credit card, at which point we will only require a copy of the front of the new credit card.
Payouts will take up to 30 business days to be processed unless otherwise specified.
Players will pay the full cost of processing should they accept their withdrawal (for withdrawals of $200+) via wire transfer which may be up to $30
Players must play a minimum of 10 games before they are eligible to withdraw.
Players are welcome to withdraw up to 10 times a month or up to $1000
All withdrawals must be made in the amount of $40 or more.
Any withdrawal requests that do not fit within the guidelines of the Spadester withdrawal policy will be declined and the money returned to the player’s account.
We ask that all players provide their full details (including residential address) in order for us to be able to process a withdrawal

No improvements so far.

10 Real Jobs for the Stay at Home Mom (Or Dad!)

2007-11-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

1) Child daycare. Each child you care for should amount to about $100 per week in income depending on where you live.

2) Doggy Daycare & Walking. Here in Seattle, people pay nearly as much to drop off their dogs for the day as they do their kids. What's really weird tho is that childcare workers make minimum wage-$7.75 per hour. Doggy Daycare workers and dog walkers make $15.00 per hour!

3) Sewing and mending services. People pay $2.00 to replace a jeans zipper and $4.00 to hem a pair of pants. A custom prom dress runs $200 and up.

4) Have bake sales. Cook up a bunch of goodies and then have a combo garage and bake sale. I always make more money on the baked goods than I do on the garage sale but people will not stop to look unless I call it a "Garage Sale." A dozen homemade cookies is $5.00 or more.

5) Grow plants and have periodic plant sales. I recently purchased 1 very over grown spider plant at a store and split it up into over 100 small plants. In the spring these will sell for around $2-5 apiece!

6) I do Ebay but in a rather unique way. All of the stuff I sell on Ebay I get for FREE. Examples are woodland ferns, native plants, Ivy, driftwood, etc. Take a walk with the kids and make it a treasure hunt. Stuff that are weeds and junk to me are exotic to people in New York!

7) Make jewelry out of beads and wire and put them on consignment at spas and jewelry stores.

8) Learn a skill like desktop publishing or transcription or web design. The more flexible and knowledgeable you get the more jobs you will get.

9) Schedule appointments for a local builder. Many companies need phone people to set up appointments for inspections, construction estimates, etc.

10) Figure out what you love to do and then work out a way to get paid for it. If you love soap operas, find someone to pay you to write about them. If you love crafts, make them and sell them!

Good luck!

Freezer Savings-Look Before You Leap!

2007-10-15T14:34:00.000-07:00

Freezers use energy a different rates depending on the age of the machine, type and total size. There is also a wide variance between manufacturers so shop for the best energy deal that you can find. The average freezer is in operation for over 25 years...more than long enough to make up the initial cost in energy savings.

Energy usage for some Kenmore Freezers:
5.0 cu. ft. Upright Freezer - 321 Kilowatt Hrs per Year
13.7 cu. ft. upright - 621 Kilowatt Hrs per Year
16.7 cu. ft. Upright Freezer - 682 Kilowatt Hrs per Year
20.3 cu. ft. Upright Freezer - 763 Kilowatt Hrs per Year

If you haven't bought a freezer yet then consider a chest freezer. The energy savings can be quite a bit.

5.0 cu. ft. Manual Defrost Chest Freezer - 242 Kilowatt Hrs per Year
13 cu. ft. Chest Freezer - 326 Kilowatt Hrs per Year
Elite 19.7 cu. ft. Chest Freezer - 435 Kilowatt Hrs per Year
19.7 cu. ft. Commercial Chest Freezer - 488 Kilowatt Hrs per Year

To save even more on freezers usage:
Buy a new freezer if yours is more than 10 years old.
Keep the door shut
Keep the freezer in a cool garage rather than in a heated space
Keep the freezer full
Keep an ongoing list of contents on the door so you do not have to rummage around to find stuff.
Keep the compressor coils clear from the wall and clean often.
Turn off the auto-defrost cycle and only turn it back on when it really needs to be defrosted.

A letter to http://www.thebulb.com

2007-10-15T14:02:00.000-07:00

I found this company that claims to produce a carbon free CFL and I had so many questions that I had to write to the company for clarification. I will post any answer that I may receive.

The letter:
I found your website through carbonfund.org and I am still a little skeptical about CFLs. My concerns are about the total costs of CFLs compared to incandescent. I have seen a lot of comparisons between energy and replacement costs and those numbers do favor the CFLs. What about the other costs associated with CFLs?

Packaging: the CFLs available at Lowe's and Walmart in my area are packaged in a hard plastic clam-shell as opposed to a card board sleeve for the incandescents. Since Walmart's stated goal is the sale of 6,000,000 units then packaging is an important consideration. Is the impact of packaging included in your CFL math?

Toxicity: Regular light bulbs are fairly nontoxic and break down into glass, aluminum, a bit of brass, and a little argon gas. All fairly simple and non-toxic. CFL bulbs on the other hand contain argon and mercury vapor and phosphors. These toxic chemicals are a very small percentage, I agree, but when I think about having 6 or 12 in my house it does start to add up. In fact, it really adds up when I consider that 134,475,214 CFLs have been purchased in the last 14 months. Each bulb contains 5-6 mg of mercury. That is : ((134 475 214 / .005) / 28) / 16 = 60,033,577.7 Pounds of Mercury and only about 15% are actually being recycled. That adds up to 51,028,541 Pounds of mercury is being added to American landfills every year.

Worker Safety: My regular light bulbs are made by Americans, working good wage jobs in St Louis Missouri (GE is planning to close this factory in 2008) Philips Lighting has its corporate office in Somerset, New Jersey with manufacturing plants in Danville, KY; Bath, NY; Salina, KS; Fairmont, WV; Paris, TX. CFL's are made by hand in China by workers who make a dollar or two per day while being exposed to Mercury Vapor on a daily basis. Are they getting enough protection? Is enough being done to protect the families and living areas of these workers?

Transportation: Regular bulbs travel up to 500 miles by truck and train(with American drivers) to reach consumers across America. CFL's travel thousands of miles on ships that are under little or no regulation concerning fuel economy, ocean dumping and fuel spills. Is transportation figured into the operations cost for CFL bulbs?

Disposal: In my area, I need to drive about 5 miles to take CFLs to the recycler and they do not accept broken CFLs. Other people do not have the facilities within 100 miles of them. What is the actual cost of disposing of the bulbs correctly and the penalty if 6,000,000 bulbs end up in landfills next year? CFLs are also very touchy! In 5 years I have broken at least 6, or about 1/3 of what I have bought. Any plans in the near future to accept damaged bulbs for recycling???

I am also curious about the actual recycling system for CFLs. What happens to them, exactly, after I return them for recycling? Are they melted down or crushed?? Both would add addition energy costs to each bulb.

There are a lot more issues to consider than just the costs of the bulbs or the electricity used to run them. How much more cost would be added if we have to worry about how it's made, who is making it, how it's transported and how it is disposed of?

Vickie in Seattle, WA

What are you willing to give up to slow global warming?

2007-10-14T13:01:00.000-07:00

What are you willing to give up to slow global warming?

Things that need to be phased out and out-right banned for the good of the planet:

1) Petroleum based motor sports. Make these sports based on alcohol fuels or get rid of them altogether. Why? Most modern gas engines are engineered on race cars. By making the motor sports industry focus on alcohol fuels we will tap into terrific innovations in making alcohol fuels, cleaner burning engines, and greater performance.

2) Corn based food products such as High-fructose corn syrup and corn oil. Why? These products are generally unhealthy and fattening for humans and should be taken out of the public diet and diverted into domestic fuel production. Since 1966, the US has used an increasing share of the corn crop to make High-fructose corn syrup and since 1966 the average American has gained 60 pounds. The best thing we can possibly do with this product is get it out of the diet and into the fuel tank. Or, even better would be to replace all corn with lower input grasses such as Sweet Sorgum or switchgrass and then turn these crops into fuel. Soda drinks alone make up about 9% of the average diet and replacing that 9 % with a zero calorie alternative would amount to a weight loss of about 20 pounds for each American in just the first year.

3) Strawberries in January. Why? The luxury of having food out of season is out of reason compared to the environmental damage associated with transporting the specialty food long distances to market. Most produce grown for this purpose must be hybrid to survive transport, sprayed with many different chemicals to retard spoilage, and shipped in refrigerated containers that use even more energy to maintain the food. This practice is expensive and globally evil considering the total energy input required to get peaches to Safeway in February. This practice needs to be stopped completely and countries need to return to the practice of growing the foods their own people need locally.

4) SUV's, and pickup trucks. Why? No one in the United States should own any vehicle that gets less than 30 miles per gallon. If you need a pickup you should rent it buy the hour instead of driving one everyday "just in case" you might need it. Get things delivered instead of having the upkeep of a energy expensive gas hog. Many people drive an SUV because they think it is safer but The larger SUV's have a completely different (and lower) standard for crash testing, crushing and airbag deployment. These were never designed to be the primary vehicle, therefore they do not have to meet the same requirements as a designated passenger vehicle.

5) Single-Use Plastic. Why? That is a good question.....why do we allow ANY plastic to be made that is not recyclable? Currently less that 5% of the plastics used in the US are types that are considered for recycling. Plastic is pretty much forever so if we had to keep the other 95% forever we would be pushed out of our homes by the mountain of single-use plastics that enter our lives each year. Luckily for us we can send it to the dump, but the time of being able to dump anything and everything is coming to an end. Currently the Pacific Ocean is sporting a brand new island known as the Pacific Garbage Patch- plastic wastes massing twice the size of the State of Texas. This is where a large portion of the previous 50 years worth of plastic has ended up.All plastics must be made "Cradle to Cradle" meaning they can be infinitely recycled and all plastic manufacturers must be held accountable for their products and take steps to insure that no more of it ends up in landfills or the ocean. Most plastics are made from petroleum--we do not allow used oil to be dumped into storm drains and we need to take steps to stop other petroleum products such as plastic from leaving the materials flow and being wasted in a dump site.

6) Travel. Why? Travel for pleasure is a tremendous waste of natural resources compared to vacationing in your own area. Travel for other than business is a waste that needs to be curtailed. 40 years ago our parents and grandparents saved up for their once-in-a-lifetime trip, today we charge the tickets on our credit card and jump to Hawaii for the weekend just because we can afford it. We never seem to think about what this is doing to our environment because the damage in out of sight. Stay home and invest that money in something that will help the planet because the earth cannot afford it anymore.

7) Public Venues. Why? Despite the amount of cash that is raised by concerts, sporting events, and other huge events, the truth is that these gatherings are terrible for the environment. Teams and performers need to travel to the events, people have to travel to the event, huge buildings are heated and cooled and tons of garbage are produced. Look at the aftermath of any parade and it is obvious that the mess is not worth it. The amounts of energy used to fuel 1 pro football game is staggering and the social benefit of such events are pretty much non-existent. With bird flu and other diseases on the horizon, large public assemblies need to be phased out for health and environmental concerns. Socially desirable programs can be televised to paying customers who wish to pay for the privilege. Others who prefer to opt out will enjoy the benefits of not having to get caught in the traffic snarls or having to put up with the trash dropped by attendees.

8) Bigger Anything. Why? In a period of uncertainty concerning the future, it is even more important to keep things in perspective. A moments thought will reveal the simple fact that bigger is definitely not better for the environment. Bigger TV's, bigger houses, bigger computers, games, and just about everything else multiply the energy used per person. It is time to scale back....get smaller more efficient appliances, live smaller, travel smaller. It is kind of silly to buy a huge house, then have to buy a huge TV so you can see it from across the room when you could buy a smaller house and mount a tiny TV on the arm of the sofa.

9) Made in China. America's dependence on cheap goods made around the world is second only to our dependence on foreign oil. The idea of a $1.00 toy being made in China and then shipped to a Dollar Store or Walmart in the US is sickening. The idea of disposable $49 DVD Players takes all social responsibility out of the equation. Buying items that we will throw away next year has got to stop and be replaced by durable goods that can be rebuilt or repaired. The first VCR that hit the market could be cleaned and repaired by a local craftsman. Nothing sold today is meant to be repaired at all so more waste builds up every year. How long can we continue this pattern? How much stuff can each of us throw away and replace with another cheap item before we are literally buried in junk?

How much do you know about going Green?

2007-10-07T12:01:00.000-07:00

Test your knowledge of "Green Technology"

Solar panels are good for the environment-True or False?

Toyota Prius batteries are collected back by Toyota and recycled-True or False?

Cloth grocery bags are better for the environment than plastic bags-True or False?

Everyone should install CFL bulbs to help stop global warming-True or False?

America collects 2 million pounds of rechargeable batteries for recycling every year-True or False?

If we don't switch to Solar panels and wind power, America will run out of energy in my lifetime-True or False?

FALSE. Solar panels(and CFL's) are made in China in huge factories with little or no environmental regulation. Typically the land around one of these Super-Factories is dead all the way down to the bedrock due to heavy metal contamination and industrial runoff. While these products do help the environment in the US and in the UK, the countries that manufacture them suffer. When you add up the damage and subtract the benefits the sum still equals horrific environmental damage rather savings.

FALSE. Toyota does collect Prius batteries for recycling but so far the technology has not reached a point where any batteries have actually been recycled. The batteries being collected are being warehoused in China for a future time when it becomes feasible to recycle them. Another note: While Toyota basks in the Green glow of the Prius, they also build and sell the worlds largest private use pickup trucks, the Toyota Tundra, a pickup with the dubious claim to fame as being the worst gas mileage pickup on the market.

FALSE. Already, most cloth grocery bags on the market are made in China or India. The environmental damage of making these bags and shipping them 10,000 miles negates the environmental savings that would make them desirable. Best solution: Re-use the plastic bags you already have for as long as possible and then make your own bags from reused materials.

FALSE. CFL's bulbs have several problems that make them less than environmentally friendly. While the mercury content of a single bulb is manageable, the impact of 150,000,000 bulbs is dramatic and ominous. (1 bulb in each home in America) Think ahead before you buy: where will you dispose of the bulb when you are done with it? If you have to drive more than 5 miles to take the bulb to a recycler then it isn't saving energy at all. You are just trading electrical savings for gasoline usage.

FALSE. America collects 220 million pounds of batteries for recycling, most are warehoused and about 2% are actually recycled as of 2007.

FALSE. Free energy sources are the Holy Grail for America but the environmental expense of individual solar or wind power systems is staggering. It takes about 1000 solar cells ($20,000 worth) to power a medium sized American home. Obviously that expense takes it out of reach for most people. Thankfully, America does have enough power for a couple hundred more years at current usage and up to 500 years if we conserve more. Alternate fossil fuels, nuclear power and biomass can sustain the US but what we do not have is CHEAP fuel, aka light sweet crude that we buy from overseas. The lights will stay on but the price is going up.

Mass marketing tells America that we can "buy" green and save the future. This is false advertising of the worst kind. There isn't a single thing that you can buy that is actually going to make your lifestyle greener because every item requires a manufacturing process that negates the claims of being green. To actually add some "green" to your lifestyle then dump the advertising campaigns and try something new:

1) Participate in the "Hundred Mile Diet"
http://100milediet.org/

2) Spend a "Year Without China"
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/07/19/my_year_without_made_in_china/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20303002/site/newsweek/

3) Live more Frugally
http://www.betterbudgeting.com/frugalliving.htm
http://frugalliving.about.com/

4) Drive less and treat your car to a complete tune-up.
http://www1.eere.energy.gov/consumer/tips/driving.html

5) Grow a portion of your food:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_agriculture
http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/fv_organic/article/0,2029,DIY_13826_2269893,00.html
http://urbanagriculture-news.com/

6) Unplug what you are not using.

7) Trade DOWN to smaller TVs and household appliances.

8) Consider working toward a 1 income household and let the home maker actually cook, grow food, and take care of the home. Or, better yet work toward 1 person in the house being a telecommuter.
[This is one that I have become very successful at. I am a telecommuter-I work about 30 hours per week from my home. I also cook every meal from scratch, home can and freeze foods for the future, make wine, bake bread, grow a garden, shop sales, recycle throwaways into useful items, make quilts, etc. Since to switched to telecommuting, I not only make the same take home pay as before but I do not pay for prepared food, home care services, wardrobe, or car expenses. It was an excellent move for my family.]

9) Buy less.

10) Use less

Those are the Top Ten things you can do to help the environment and stop Global Warming.

Batteries Vs. Petrolium-Which is worse?

2007-10-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

This may be a good case for the old adage "The devil we know is better than the devil we don't know."

Battery recycling has been a long debated issue that first began with lead car batteries and continues in the age of NiCad and Lithium batteries. Every producer of these new batteries says that the batteries are "recyclable" but what does that really mean? In the case of lead batteries, a global Greenpeace investigation of automobile lead-acid battery collection programs has revealed a massive flow of these extremely toxic wastes from heavily industrialized countries -- particularly Australia, Japan, the U.K. and the U.S. -- to many Third World countries, particularly in Asia.

The main factors causing the lead battery waste trade are typical to all waste trade schemes: in industrial countries, the environmental and occupational health regulatory cost of operating lead battery recycling facilities is ever-increasing, and the prices offered for secondary lead are low. It is simply not profitable to operate secondary lead smelters in many industrial countries. Battery brokers are finding more profitable markets in places where workers are paid little, and environmental and workplace regulations are weak and/or unenforced.

The end result of this free trade in toxic waste: thousands of workers and children suffering from lead blood poisoning, rivers and air loaded with lead emissions, and big profits for the lead battery brokers and manufacturers.(1)

Rechargeable batteries are proving to be a challenge when it comes to recycling. While NiCad and Lithium batteries are recyclable in Theory, the actual process is proving to be a bit messy.

The UK's foremost agency for recycling batteries admits that, "For alkaline and zinc carbon batteries, which are the most common types, the UK hasn’t got a full process yet, but we are developing a hydrometallurgical system."(2) Currently the UK is actually recycling about 4% of the non-lead batteries that are discarded each year. (They do recycle about 90% of all discarded lead batteries.)(4)

In the United States the sheer number of these batteries is staggering. According to the U.S.E.P.A 220 MILLION Pounds of batteries and small electronic devices (cell phones & PDA's) enter the waste stream every year. Currently, about 50% are tossed into the trash bucket, and 50% are collected for recycling. Only about 2% of the collected materials are actually recycled, most of this waste is warehoused or sold to Asian countries, mainly China. (3)

It is very easy to make the choice to pick a product that is "recyclable" but it is very difficult to direct how the recycling will be done and where it will be done. The US currently has some pretty well tested laws concerning petroleum controls and nearly none concerning rechargeable battery recycling. Our laws say the companies must take them back but not what the companies need to do with them once they have them. Until those laws go into effect then we will have to live with the consequences.

1) http://www.things.org/~jym/greenpeace/myth-of-battery-recycling.html
2) http://www.wrap.org.uk/local_authorities/batteries/battery_recycling_information/qa_processing.html
3) http://www.biggreenbox.com/Page.bok?template=faq#GSA
4) http://www.letsrecycle.com/equipment/batteries.jsp

The Restaurant Conspiracy-Continued

2007-09-13T10:44:00.001-07:00

The new Quiznos commercial shows a Subway Sub next to a Quiznos Sub....and everyone agrees the Quiznos Sub is much better. What the commercial fails to mention is that the Quiznos Sub contains 5 times as many calories! Subway's 6 inch Sub is about 550 calories and the small Quiznos Sub is about 1850 calories. OK, it is better....but is it 1300 calories better?

I am seeing quite a few restaurants that fail to disclose their calorie counts: TGI Fridays, Olive Garden, etc. Seems like these places are actually hiding the nutritional information on most of their foods. At least McDonalds has the balls to be honest about 600 calorie burgers! TGIF has a Jack Daniels Cheese Burger that serves up 1750 calories!!! Super-Size Fries are lightweights (570) compared to Cheesy-Fries (3015). Love pasta? Olive Garden keeps most of their menu secret...why? Because Pasta Alfredo and 3 breadsticks is 2250 calories and their chicken salad is over 1000. Denny's does have their info online...Country Sausage Platter is 2100 calories and has 4 ounces of pure fat!

The harder people try to maintain or lose weight, the worse the options become for healthy dining! It is scary to think that McDonalds may be one of the healthiest menus available only surpassed by Subway (which is actually going out of their way to offer healthy foods.)

Since the 1950's we have been eating out more and more and as a group we are gaining weight. Now I see why....to get our patronage these restaurants stuff their foods full of oils and calories and then refuse to talk about nutritional info!

Resturants defend their non-action by saying that low calorie items are available as well as splurge items but the problem with that is how are diners supposed to tell the difference? For many years I have ordered appetizers instead of full meals thinking that I was getting lower calories and now I find out that the meal STARTERS are over 2000 calories by themselves! As if that isn't bad enough similar entree's calorie count varies widely between different chains. At your typical Mexican restaurant, the two plate-sized (white) fl our tortillas stuffed with melted cheese and with sour cream and guacamole on the side can run you 900 calories but at On The Border a very similar meal hits a whopping 1860 calories.

Some of the “X-Treme Eating” options highlighted in the March issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Healthletter include:

• Ruby Tuesday’s “Colossal Burger.” Ruby Tuesday actually became the first big chain to put nutrition information on its menus. Unfortunately it scrapped that initiative, presumably because it meant the sale of fewer Colossal Burgers. With 1,940 calories and 141 grams of fat (more than two days’ worth!), one of these megaburgers is equivalent to about five McDonald’s Quarter Pounders.

• Uno Chicago Grill’s “Pizza Skins.” “We start with our famous deep dish crust, add mozzarella and red bliss mashed potatoes, and top it off with crispy bacon, cheddar, and sour cream,” says the menu. The menu doesn’t disclose that this fusion of pizza and potato skins—which is meant to precede a meal of pizza—packs 2,050 calories, 48 grams of saturated fat, and 3,140 milligrams of sodium (more than a day’s worth). “Even if you split it with two other people, it’s like eating dinner before your dinner even hits the table,” Jacobson said.

• Ruby Tuesday’s “Fresh Chicken & Broccoli Pasta.” Pity the poor diner who thinks this healthy sounding entrée is on the light side: Thanks to its Parmesan cream sauce and layer of melted cheese, the 2,060 calories and 128 grams of fat make it the equivalent of two 12-ounce sirloin steaks, two buttered baked potatoes, and two Caesar salads. (CSPI calls this dish “Angioplasta.”) At least Ruby Tuesday has the guts to give out menu information!
Eat at Ruby Tuesdays?? Try the Point Reyes Blue Cheese Chips as an appetizer, Alpine Swiss Burger, Fries with ranch dressing, fresh strawberries and ice cream for dessert. Split that between 2 people and serve with a glass of wine apiece. Even split in half it's 1750 calories EACH. Thats right 1 "meal" can be 3484 calories!

• Cheesecake Factory’s “Chris’ Outrageous Chocolate Cake.” There’s room enough on Cheesecake Factory’s sprawling menu for advertisements, but evidently no room for nutrition information. If one is undecided among brownie, pie, or cheesecake for dessert, this 1,380-calorie menu item helpfully provides all of the above. It’s the equivalent of eating two Quarter Pounders plus a large fries—for dessert.

Federal MEAL Acts were introduced in the U.S. House and Senate in the last Congress, but restaurants in New York have avoided the menu guidelines so far, stating, "It's is impossible to fit enough information on the menu to be useful to consumers." Nutritional front runner, Subway has taken the step toward menu labeling with little effort, new menus feature the calories counts of each item.

The Great Plastic Menace

2007-09-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

No matter how careful I am about recycling, reducing, and re-using, I still end up with many pieces of plastic going into my trash. I get all these little bits and pieces that are just not recyclable by any currently available system.

According to the Energy Information Administration the average American garbage can is 11% plastic by weight and 25% plastic by volume.(1) I am blessed to live in an area that offers pretty good recycling options.(2) I can recycle plastic jugs and bottles(not caps), round dairy tubs(not lids) and plastic shopping bags(no paper receipts and wet ones go in the trash).
So now I am left with all the plastic that I can’t recycle like the lids, plastic wrap, 6-pack rings, bread bags etc, etc. As a crafty person, I re-purpose a lot of these items into usable stuff: I made a beautiful lamp out of CD’s for example, but the majority of this waste plastic is overwhelming.

A little research has made me aware of just how big a problem plastics are becoming in the ocean. Visualize an island twice the size of Texas. Now look closer and realize the “island” is actually made of discarded plastic. Nasty, huh?? A vast landscape of traffic cones, milk jugs, Bic lighters and plastic bags, TWICE THE SIZE OF TEXAS!(4)

What is even worse is that sea life becomes entangled in the mess, eats the shiny pieces and even feeds the plastic bits to their offspring. More than a million seabirds die from ingesting lighters and bottle caps instead of food. Thousands of birds wash ashore dead with their bellies full of tampon applicators, construction cut-outs and pretty scraps. One bird was documented with over 1600 pieces of plastic in it’s gullet. (4)An estimated 100,000 marine mammals per year are killed as a direct result of plastic. We seize up over the Makah Indians killing a gray whale(6) but yet we allow plastics to contaminate the sea?

Where does all this food sized plastic come from? Mostly from us. Each day we handle dozens of small pieces of plastic(hand sized or smaller) and each piece gets discarded in turn when we are done with it; a piece of tape here, a bottle cap there, a foam ear plug, maybe-the list goes on and on. Once it passes out of our hands, we do not feel the responsibility anymore. We did the right thing by recycling what we could and “safely” disposed of the rest. Except that “safe disposal” only means safe for us. it doesn’t mean safe for birds, or safe for animals, and it definitely doesn’t mean safe for the Earth.

Lately I came across a new thought: What if all the plastic that we brought into our homes had to stay in our homes forever? No more throwing it away, ever! What if every single piece became our responsibility for the rest of our lives? How would that impact us and how could we deal with all that plastic? Well on a global scale that is exactly what we are doing. We are creating plastics that we will have to deal with for thousands of years. In fact, “Except for the small amount that’s been incinerated-and it’s a very small amount-every bit of plastic ever made still exists.”(4)

A Personal Experiment: for the past 2 weeks I have been separating out everything that is neither biodegradable or recyclable and already it is starting to add up. Old lighters, plastic wrap, lids, rings and those evil supermarket receipts printed on toxic paper.(3) I have about 10 pounds so far even though I am actually very careful about accepting plastics, in fact, I think about every single piece of plastic like it is radioactive! Each piece I touch makes me wonder, “Do I like this enough to bring it into my life forever?” The point is to actually see how much plastic I use. And I actually plan to live with it for a while -my goal is a year.

I have sewn up some cloth bags to store the trash in. I am packing it down as much as possible and when the bags are full, I plan to strap them together and make something like an ottoman(I hope) and hopefully not a SOFA. I borrowed this idea from Designer, Inna Alesina. Her idea is to use recycled plastic to make pillow forms. Then we would stuff the forms with trash, strap them together and make furniture.(5)

Could you live with a year’s worth of trash? Our planet will be living with all of it, forever, so a year’s worth can’t be too bad, right?

1) http://www.eia.doe.gov/kids/energyfacts/saving/recycling/solidwaste/plastics.html
2) http://www.seattle.gov/util/Services/Recycling/Recyclable_Items/PLASTIC_2003120207594611.asp
3) http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1200/is_21_163/ai_102696961
4) http://www.bestlifeonline.com/cms/publish/travel-leisure/Our_oceans_are_turning_into_plastic_are_we.shtml
5) http://www.alesinadesign.com/fill_it.html

6) http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2003878034_webmakah10m.html

As long as companies are allowed to produce a single scrap of non-recyclable material, that material is going to end up in the ocean. The key is not curb-side recycling but rather stopping the problem at the source. Make EVERY item recyclable, period.

Update, June 28,2008

I am still saving my plastic scraps and I have about 30 pounds on hand now. The first 15 pounds were sold as an ottoman at my last garage sale for $5.00. It was a bundle of plastic scraps about 16 inches square, upolstered in a black velvet I scored at the Goodwill Store. ;-) Seems that people will buy anything for the right price!

Extinction: Tragedy or Destiny?

2007-09-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

Should endangered animals be saved? Every single species has a potential for extinction and millions of species have already gone extinct without any interference from humans. Humans have also been the direct cause of several extinctions including dodo birds, Tasmanian tigers, and passenger pigeons. Was it wrong? Of course it was, but could we have saved them? Probably not.

Currently polar bears are in real danger of extinction due to human actions. Thousands are starving to death every year and the numbers a declining at such a rate that humans likely will not be able to stop it. But should we make heroic efforts to save them, maybe not. Without their natural habitat, polar bears will need to be artificially supported throughout their individual lives. This means either the bears end up in zoos(much like what has happened to pandas) or we would have to track each bear and make sure that each one is getting enough to eat every day of their lives. And, someone would have to be responsible for killing seals to feed to polar bears.

Polar bears are declining because they are not able to adapt to their changing environment quickly enough. If we can stop polar melting they would have a chance but if we can't do that then it is better to let the species pass into history than it is to put them all in zoos eating horse meat for the rest of their lives.

The same is true for all endangered species. If we can't fix the main problem that is causing the extinction then it makes no sense to preserve a species by dooming that species to live in an unnatural state.

Would you keep the last passenger pigeon in a cage to preserve it from extinction or let it fly free for it last remaining days?

The real cost of CFL Bulbs.

2007-09-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

Every website about global warming urges us to "replace one regular bulb with the new CFL and save X tons of CO2 emissions." The first CFL I bought came wrapped in a non-recyclable clam shell casing roughly the size of a small shoe box. What is eco-friendly about that? My regular light bulbs come in a simple, RECYCLABLE paper box. WalMart has stated that their sales goal of CFL's for 2007 is 6,000,000 units. 6 MILLION plastic shoe boxes going into landfills from just one source!

Regular light bulbs are fairly nontoxic and break down into glass, aluminum, a bit of brass, and a little argon gas. All fairly simple and non-toxic. CFL bulbs on the other hand contain argon and mercury vapor and phosphors. These TOXIC chemicals have to be disposed of in special ways-In my case by driving them to the recycling station. If you break a CFL you risk exposing yourself and family to mercury and the bulb is no longer recycleable so mercury is sent to a landfill.

Regular light bulbs are 4/$1. CFL's are still around $3.99 each.

My regular light bulbs are made by Americans, working good wage jobs in St Louis Missouri (GE is planning to close this factory in 2008) Philips Lighting has its corporate office in Somerset, New Jersey with manufacturing plants in Danville, KY; Bath, NY; Salina, KS; Fairmont, WV; Paris, TX. CFL's are made by hand in China by workers who make around 9 CENTS per hour while being exposed to Mercury Vapor on a daily basis.

Regular bulbs travel up to 500 miles by truck and train(with American drivers) to reach consumers across America. CFL's travel thousands of miles on ships manned by low wage foreign sailors.

Regular light bulbs are made mostly in American Factories under the close watch of the EPA, and maintain very high standards concerning air, water and soil contamination. CFL's are made with almost no environmental oversight, causing huge swaths of contaminated ground. The areas around CFL plants in China typically show mercury poisoning in the soil, water and air. These very areas are also, typically where the factory workers live and grow subsistence gardens, thereby ingesting even more mercury.

Regular light bulbs use 60 watts per hour. CFL's use 13 watts per hour. BUT, when I turn the regular bulb off, the energy savings is then equal to or better than the CFL.

As with any of the new eco-friendly products, think before you buy. The actual cost of many of these new ideas can be very steep and cruel when compared to traditional products . In 99% of cases it is much better to use old light bulbs more responsibly than it is to buy the new CFL's. DON'T SWITCH IT OUT--JUST SWITCH IT OFF!

1) http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/108/open_lightbulbs.html
2) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4330333.stm
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0WDP/is_2001_August_27/ai_78570218

Thoughts on Personal Furniture...

2007-09-10T10:37:00.000-07:00

No matter how careful I am about recycling, reducing, and re-using, I still end up with many pieces of plastic going into my trash. I get all these little bits and pieces that are just not recyclable by any currently available system. In the past I have tossed these items in the trash and hoped for the best but now there is an option: keep it around as Personal Furniture!

Designer Inna Alesina recently presented a design for furniture that is basically recycled plastic shapes that are filled with non-recyclable plastic instead of air. When the shapes are full, they are strapped together to become an ottoman, chair or even a sofa.

I have to say this is a great idea! Since Inna is not currently offering the shapes for sale, I am going to try the same idea using re-purposed fabric. I will make some basic shapes and keep one by the trash can. Instead of tossing those plastic scraps away, I will stuff them into my future living room set!

Composting 401

2007-09-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

At this point just about everyone knows to put food scraps in the compost bin but that is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to composting.

I have a large compost pile that yeilded about 3 cubic feet of beautiful black soil this spring. I compost just about everything possible while still keeping it look like compost and not a garbage dump.

Compost:
Vegetable food scraps
coffee grounds
peelings
tea bags
egg shells
shredded paper
paper plates
small amounts of cardboard
household sweepings and vacuum contents
tissues used for nose blowing
paper egg cartons
house plant trimmings
pencil shavings
outdated vitamins and minerals
small amounts of raw fish.
small amounts of newspaper
Fish tank water & activated charcoal
pet wastes
wine must(sediments from making homemade wine)
sand

Do Not compost:
Heat sensitive paper like fax paper.
meat
bones
grease
plastic
chemicals
styrofoam
drugs
metal shavings
glass
toxic house plants like poinsettia
cooked fish

Carbon Reduction Verses Saving the Environment??

2007-09-05T11:19:00.001-07:00

Lately everyone seems to be getting on the Carbon Footprint bandwagon but I think a majority may be missing an important factor considering how much damage is allowed to the environment in the name of "reducing carbon emissions. Saving the environment is much much harder than the carbon issue in that environmental damage can be a direct result of trying to reduce carbon emissions. Every solar panel, or CF light bulb or rechargeable battery carries with it a legacy of huge environmental damage. Every single item that is manufactured causes pollution somewhere.

The key to actually saving the environment is to stop creating a need for the things that cause the damage. For example, I may want to buy a new Prius hybrid to lower my CO2 emissions but if I did that then I would be contributing to the environmental damage associated with the manufacturing processes including nickel mining in Canada and battery productions in China that have literally killed the areas around the operations right down to the bedrock.

To actually Save the Environment, consider a few of these suggestions:

Keep your car tuned up. Combine trips.

Learn to live with less lighting. Use lamps where you need them instead of lighting up the whole house.

Adjust your home heating and cooling and use layers of clothing to stay comfortable. Heat less of your house. Consolidate your activities to one or two rooms instead of heating and cooling the whole house.

Eat less meat and grow a little garden. Plants trees or tall plants along the sun side of your house to help cool it in the summer. Buy locally-Avoid foods that have to be shipped great distances.

Use what you have longer. Take care of the things you buy so they will last longer. Re-use what you have for other purposes. Donate unneeded items to charity-buy used stuff at charity stores instead of new when possible.

Rethink chemicals. Buy less of them, use less of them. Most cleaners can be cut 50/50 with water and still work well. Be careful of how you dispose of chemicals. Never put anything in your drains that you wouldn't want distilled into drinking water.

Don't drive when you can walk or bike(even a motorcycle is better than a car.) Don't buy new when you can make do or reuse.

Live slower...live with less...maybe then we can ALL live longer and happier.

Shutting Down the CO2 Machine

2007-09-05T09:21:00.000-07:00

In 2006 China took over the dubious honor of being the #1 producer of CO2 in the world. American's collectively let out a sigh of relief...."It's not our fault anymore!" And so another falsehood enters into the American Culture. It is now easy to think..."Why should I work so hard to reduce CO2 when I know that China is not?" The hidden truth is that the per capita CO2 emissions in China are still far far below the of the US, it takes about 10 Chinese to make as much CO2 as it takes 1 America. And, when you subtract the CO2 associated with the Chinese industries for export products then the ratio drops to about 25 Chinese to 1 American in CO2 production.

This is because, tragically, China has become #1 by building industries to sell energy efficient products to the US. They build CFL's-We buy them, They build batteries for the Toyota Prius-We buy them, They build solar panels-We buy them. A large portion of "China's" CO2 footprint really belongs to America because we buy the products of their industries.

This is the classic example of the idea of "global" warming is out of step with the current standards for reduction.

The average person in the US tries to REDUCE their carbon footprint by buying energy efficient light bulbs, hybrids and re-usable shopping bags without thinking of where those products come from and what effect those industries are having on their local carbon footprint. This is NOT global thinking and it does NOTHING to alleviate the problem. All we are doing, so far, is moving the mess out of our country. The mess is still being produced but it is "out of sight".

The only solution for reducing carbon dioxide is to MAKE LESS by reusing items we already have (plastic shopping bags and well-tuned small cars) and stop buying new crap that makes more CO2 emissions.

Look around your house and find all the items made in CHINA and know that the CO2 emissions to make those things belongs to YOU!

Paper, Plastic, or Canvas??

2007-09-02T18:25:00.000-07:00

Paper, Plastic or Canvas??? This is a question we face with every trip to a store but what is the Best choice? It is easy to say that a reusable canvas tote is the best choice but is it really the best choice? Actual carbon-footprints vary depending on the sources of the bags. Recycled plastic bags are showing up in many markets. Most paper bags are post-consumer recycled paper (not usually from "trees" directly.) Canvas tote bags are costly(compared to plastic or paper) and are mostly made in China under questionable working conditions. When we add up the materials(new canvas), the construction(underpaid workers in bad working conditions), add a huge PLASTIC graphic on the side and shipping across the world, then canvas tote bags get very expensive for the environment and for humans.

To be the MOST eco-friendly, just re-use the bags you already have and save the environmental expense of making new tote bags. Double or triple the old plastic bags and double up on paper bags and they will last through a hundred shopping trips. Or, you could re-use a pair of old jeans and make a tote that will last as long as you do.

At the very least look for bags made of re-used materials (Canvas from sails or denim from old jeans maybe) by someone in your neighborhood.

Beware of any eco-friendly ideas that require the purchase of a new item! Every new item including tote bags require a manufacturing process that adds to the over all problem. Right now, being green is a fad that inspires people to buy more, more, more....in the future being green will mean buy less, use less, and use what you have until it is worn out. When you buy stuff you are feeding the FAD...when you actually start re-using what you already have then you are MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

BTW, I got my Free Tote Bag from Yahoo Answers and it arrived in a PLASTIC BAG and has a huge plastic graphic on the side and it is "Made in India"!

Better-For-You Burgers

2007-08-21T07:44:00.000-07:00

Better-For-You Burgers

1/2 pound ground beef.
1 cup fine chopped red(bell) peppers
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped
2 tablespoons of ground black pepper
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 teaspoon salt or Seasoned Salt- Try Vegeta(now available at most Safeways)

Mix all together and then form into 4 patties. Fry or grill on medium until browned on both sides. Serve with your favorite burger fixings and oven fries!

Good Things About Global Warming???

2007-08-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

There are upsides to Global Change!
1) With a global temperature increase of 2-4 degrees, vast areas of the northern US, Southern Canada, northern UK and central Russia will be available for farming. This is pristine land that has never been farmed before and will more than replace the marginalized farmlands that will eventually turn into desert.

2) Many coastal countries will experience increased rainfall in areas that were deserts including India. Future planning will capture the current floods and irrigate millions of acres for farming.

3) As the polar ice caps melt away, the Northwest Passage will become a reality saving trillions of gallons of fuel in the shipping industry. Vast unreachable oil fields will become accessible in the Arctic Circle-maybe as much as 50% of the total world's oil is waiting there but currently unreachable.

4) More CO2 in the atmosphere helps more plants grow both in nature and in farmlands. Raising the CO2 in a greenhouse by only 1% can increase yields by 25-50%

5) Winter energy needs will decrease as the temperatures in many areas rise above current levels. Air conditioning costs may rise but many big businesses are capturing this excess heat and converting it to usable energy.

6) We will have more days at the beach!

Charities fight the tide of do-gooder fatigue

2007-07-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

This story showed up on http://www.csmonitor.com

This was a nice article on what I like to call Martyr Backlash: People who sacrifice to help others and then after seeing no betterment or reciprocation stop their efforts entirely. It is very common even outside the areas of volunteering, people do it all the time. We give money to a certain homeless person, for example, maybe even help that person get into treatment or a program. A month or two and that person is back on the street. It will be a long time before we try to help some other person.

What I would love to see, at this point in my life, concerning the homeless, the poor, food bank clients, and sheltered women, is how much time do they donate? How much do these basically unemployed people volunteer to serve meals or do labor?

Hey CSM, do you have any statistics on that?

Blast from the Past...."Life with Ernie"

2007-07-10T14:25:00.000-07:00

I was looking through some old newspapers and came across this gem that I wrote in 2002

Life with Ernie....

My son, like most small children, has a lot of clothing with various action figures, TV cartoons, and toy logos emblazoned on them. Most of them came in sets of a shirt and pants, sometimes even with a jacket or hat. When he was smaller and more malleable it was fun to dress him up in these outfits. He could be Sesame Street or Bob the Builder from head toe, hat to boots.

This last 6 months or so something changed in that he doesn't like all of the pieces of the sets. For example, he will only wear one pair of boots right now (Bob the Builder) and his favorite outfit, clean or not, is a Tazmanian Devil tee-shirt with the Buzz Lightyear sweat pants. Add to that scene with a 101 Dalmatian hat and the Monster's Inc vest. OUCH!

As I got him dressed the other day, I had to wonder if there was some way to take advantage of his clothing preferences. Maybe somewhere there is a sponsorship available like you see on Nascars or athletes. After all, I bet anything he averages more miles a day than any race car and can be a lot faster than most athletes, plus he's cute. Any grandmother type who sees him cannot resist a pinch or two and maybe even a kiss if she is really fast on the pucker.

So, here is my plan.... I'll get some endorsements from companies who market to grannies like Hallmark, Red Heart Yarn Company, and the folks that make those Peptobismo flavored candies and sell them advertising space on Ernie, my own little "Product Endorsement Boy."

Take Control of Your Grocery Spending: On-line!

2007-07-08T12:13:00.000-07:00

Taking control of your grocery spending, your diet and maybe even your waste line: Sign-up for on-line grocery shopping and delivery!

I visited Safeway.com and signed up for grocery delivery. Considering how frugal I am, it may seem a little strange that I am willing to pay an extra $7.95 to get groceries delivered. But, ask yourself how many times you have gone to the store to "pick up a few things" and ended up spending twice as much (or more) than you intended? Even worse, how much of that extra cost was unhealthy junk food bought on the spur of the moment?

Another common problem is that I forget to take my carefully prepared shopping list and try to remember what was on it while I am shopping. I end up buying stuff I do not need and forget the stuff I really need. Then, I have to go to the store again!

The solution??? Order exactly what you need without the temptation of seeing all the extra stuff at all. When I order online I can get eggs without walking through the chips & cookies aisle! I can get milk without seeing the baking aisle!

To best take advantage of this great service, sit down and make a list of meals you would like to eat for the next week or so. Then make a list of what you need to buy to make the meals. You can check the pantry and the freezer while you are actually on-line shopping....no more redundant purchases. In every category you will have the option to sort the foods by "A to Z" or by "Price-Lowest first" that alone is a great money saving tool. You can see the price of each product by weight. One cheese may be $10.99 per pound and a similar store brand of cheese may be $5.99 per pound. Once you have made your whole order, you will see that total and be able to add or delete items to make the order fit your exact budget, period! No more nasty surprises at the check stand.

You can use on-line shopping to get control of your food intake too. By actually searching for the items you want to buy, you will become more aware of exactly what you are buying. You can choose lower fat, or lower calorie foods with ease and plan for portioning. For example, we all know we need to eat 3-4 servings of veggies and fruits per day. Basically that means 1 pound of fruits and veggies per person per day. If you are shopping for a week of meals, then you can check the shopping order and make sure there is at least 7 pounds of produce ordered. If you are a single person, you can portion meat more easily by making sure the total weight of the meats on your weekly order is no more than 8 ounces per day--3.5 pounds per week.

I am pretty happy with my on-line shopping so far but there are a few things that I would like to see added:

Currently Safeway.com is not accepting EBT cards(Public Assistance Food Cards), so as usual, the people who might benefit from the service can't use it. EBT card holders are typically using the card to buy much more expensive and much less healthy products from the closest convienence store instead of being able to get good food delivered.

Safeway.com is not accepting manufacturers coupons either so, if you are a clipper then, on-line shopping might not be for you. Personally, I rarely use coupons and if I do, then I take them to the store and buy ONLY those items.

Once the service gets tweeked, I think on-line shopping may become THE way to shop.

Play a Song for Me Apple Jack, Apple Jack....

2007-06-29T12:48:00.001-07:00

I simply love homemade Apple Jack!
It's super easy, doesn't take a lot of special supplies and it carries a wallop at 15% alcohol. At about $2.50 per half gallon, it is also one of the cheapest alcoholic drinks, too. In Washington it is perfectly legal to make you own beer and wine, so here is the cheapest way to do it.

Supplies:
Large size party balloon or 1 regular(dry) condom
1 package of dry yeast 1 cup of sugar, honey, or corn sweetener
1 1/2 gallon bottle of pure apple juice. Make sure the apple juice is real 100% juice. This recipe will not work using the fake juices or punch. Let the juice warm to room temperature.

Measure out about 2 cups and reserve it for the end. Pour your sweetener into the juice and shake it until it is dissolved in the juice. Add the package of dry yeast. Add the reserved juice back to the bottle until the level is about the same as when you started with a full bottle.

Use a pin or needle to poke a hole in the balloon or condom, then stretch the rubber over the mouth of the 1/2 gallon bottle. Run your sink full of hot water and stand the half gallon jug in it until the yeast begins to foam(about 30 minutes).

Once it is foaming you can set it to work in a dark fairly warm(65-75 degree) place. Check on your Apple Jack once a week or so. After 2 weeks give it a good gentle shake to knock some of the bubbles out of it. At 3-4 weeks the Apple Jack should be a pale yellow color and nearly clear. Carefully, pour the wine into another container. Be careful not to disturb the sludge at the bottom any more than you have to. Refrigerate and enjoy!

This recipe makes a very dry apple wine. You can sweeten it to taste with sugar or honey.

Forget the Lettuce! Pass the Stinging Nettles!!!

2007-06-07T10:55:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not blogging recently, but the fine spring weather means many extra chores at my house. My garden is in and doing well by providing about 50% of our needed veggies. I expect to be veggie-independent sometime next month as the tomatoes and peppers start ripening. One of the things that people have noticed and commented on is that I am "letting my garden be overrun with weeds!" Then I must explain that not all "weeds" are undesirable and that the ones in my garden are well tended and welcome guests. I have about 10 square feet of Stinging Nettles (and nearly as much Dandelion as I have lettuce.) Why?? Because both Dandelion and Nettle contain more food value than ANYTHING ELSE I could possibly grow. So, early this morning I was out in the yard picking Stinging Nettles. This is the best time of the year to replenish lagging vitamin and mineral levels by munching on the potentially itchy plant.

In folk medicine nettle plants have been used as a diuretic, to build the blood, for arthritis and rheumatism. Externally it has been used to improve the appearance of the hair, and is said to be a remedy against oily hair and dandruff.

The stinging sensation of the leaf hairs is caused by several plant chemicals including formic acid, histamine, serotonin, and choline, that are deactivated by boiling. In addition to these chemicals, nettle leaf is rich in minerals, chlorophyll, amino acids, lecithin, carotenoids, flavonoids, sterols, tannins and vitamins.

You can read more about the benefits of Stinging Nettles Raintree Nutrition

To gather fresh nettles....SUIT UP! Long sleeves and gloves are a must for this project. I prefer Atlas gloves for this chore and all yard work because the rubber palms get a good grip but do not make your hands sweat like other rubber gloves.

I use a plastic grocery bag to gather the nettles so that I can toss it afterward.

Take your Atlas glove and slide your hand up the stem of the Stinging Nettle, stripping off the leaves as you go. Near the top the stem will snap off too. It tends to naturally break at the point where the stem becomes soft enough to eat. Like most greens, Nettles are mostly water so pick 3-4 quarts of leaves and tops to get about 2 cups of edible greens.

Keep your gloves on while you rinse the Nettles!

To cook Stinging Nettles use a large pot with 2 quarts of water. Stuff the Nettles into the pot and bring to a boil. Dispose of the plastic bag. You may now remove the gloves. Allow the Nettles to boil for at least 5 minutes, stir and turn the nettles to insure that it all gets the boiling temperature. This will kill the stinging cells. Allow the Nettles to cool to room temperature.

I use a stick mixer to grind the greens and release more of the water. I can't imagine a kitchen without one of these handy tools!

Strain the greens but reserve the liquid for Green Tea. Squeeze as much liquid out as possible. The Stinging Nettle now looks exactly like cooked spinach and tastes very similar. Serve as is with butter and pepper or cook it into your favorite recipe in place of spinach.

My Favorite Recipes:

Zeljanica (Spinach Pita)

This is a traditional Bosnia fast food. Think of a hot dog cart, only in Bosnia, you would get this instead. Very yummy and very nutritious, especially when made with cooked stinging nettles, a common herb with huge amounts of vitamins and minerals.

2 cups cottage cheese
1 cup cooked, drained and squeezed dry Stinging Nettles
1 egg
2 Tsp of fresh ground black pepper
--------------------
24 Sheets of Phyllo
2 tbsp Butter

----------------------------------------------

Mix cottage cheese, greens, egg and pepper together.

Spread butter on 3 stacked sheets of phyllo dough. Place 1/8 of cottage cheese mixture in the center of one end. Fold the dough length ways to enclose the filling, brush with butter. Roll up the dough to form a square packet. Brush top with butter. Continue this until you have made 8 packets. Arrange on a dry cookie sheet leaving a space around each one. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes until browned and bubbling. Allow to cool nearly to room temperature. This should be accompanied with kiefer (liquid yogurt drink).

Nettle and Navy Bean Soup

4 cups navy beans (soaked 10 hours)
1/2 pound of cooked nettles
3 quarts water
Seasonings to taste

Put all ingredients in a kettle and boil slowly for about 2 hours. Pass through a sieve. Boil for about 1 minute and serve.

Split Pea And Nettle Soup Recipe

5 cups dried peas (soaked 6 hours)
1/2 pound stinging nettles, washed, cleaned, stemmed
1 onion, peeled
3 quarts water
Seasonings to taste

Boil slowly all ingredients together until peas are cooked. This will take about 90 minutes. Pass through a sieve. Bring to a boil and serve with fresh homemade bread rolls.

Nettle Wine

2 quarts Nettle tea (reserved from cooking Nettles)
3.5 lbs granulated sugar
1/2 oz thinly sliced ginger root
7-1/2 pints water
2 lemons
1 tsp yeast nutrient
wine yeast

Thinly peel the lemons and place nettle tea, ginger slices and lemon peelings in 3-quart pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes. Juice the lemons and put sugar and lemon juice in primary fermenting vessel. Strain nettle tea mixture and pour over sugar. Stir to dissolve sugar and add remaining water. Cover with sanitized cloth and set aside to cool. When room temperature, add yeast nutrient and yeast. After four days of vigorous fermentation, stir well and transfer to secondary and fit airlock. When wine begins to clear, rack into clean secondary and refit airlock. After 3 months, rack into bottles. This wine is drinkable immediately. [Adapted from C.J.J. Berry's First Steps in Winemaking]

Learn to enjoy what you are given by trying at least 1 recipe using one of Mother Nature's most nutritious freebies!

Let's Create Guest Worker Vacations!

2007-05-10T08:39:00.000-07:00

Concerning immigration and the labor shortage: http://www.capitalpress.info/main.asp?SectionID=67&SubSectionID=619&ArticleID=32041&TM=48183.9

It has been my experience that anytime a problem is converted to an asset, then everyone concerned wins. An example of this is the bio-diesel industry. A waste product is turned into a desirable commodity and everyone benefits. Maybe it is time to change the way we think about Migrant Workers and farm labor.

Basically, farms have a labor shortage and wage issues. Cities around the country and especially Seattle have a gold mine in bored, middle income, people looking for diversion and exercise outside their usual life. These two issues could be brought into one program that allows city people to do farm labor while calling it a vacation.

I estimate that about 4 million people per year drive from Seattle to the cities of Ocean Shores, Westport and Long View to spend $1000 for a weekend. Given the right options many of these vacationers could be diverted into the farm work force.

I read with interest an article on the impending labor shortages in the food production industries due to crack-downs on illegal immigration. I will not address immigration directly in this message, but I want to put forward an idea that could help farms find a new kind of "Guest Worker".

In the 70's and 80's my parents spent the summers picking fruits and vegetables in Eastern Washington. During that time we lived in a tiny travel trailer and parked at the various farms as we picked our way through the harvest season. As a child, I hated the summers we spent in the dusty, dirty camps, often we were the only gringos working in the area. Compared to the families that lived in the "bunkhouses", our little trailer was a mansion. My friends in Western Washington thought my family was insane to spend the summer working this way, but they all loved the truckload of fruit and vegetables my family brought back with them to split between the neighbors. The last 2 weeks of the summer were spent in a home canning frenzy that would provide food all winter long.

Looking back at the time with more wisdom and a bit of nostalgia I realize that the summers we spent as Migrant Workers offered something that is very hard to come by these days: A job with specific goals and the satisfaction of a job well done.

The average American works a job that typically means repetition and vague goals spread over a large group of workers. There is very little chance to start a project and see it through to a successful end. This 9-5 type of career leads to job and financial security, but doesn't fulfill the basic need to create and grow.

Other industries are taking advantage of this basic unrest by offering working vacations and volunteer vacations, the basic idea being: anyone can enjoy hard work for a week or so and then return to their "real" jobs mentally and physically rested.

I would like to point out a typical website that features working vacations:

http://vocationvacations.com/search/results.php?country=4&state=&general=136789&category=&days=&sPrice=&ePrice=

NOTE: These working vacations cost $599 per person and up for 2 days!

Raising wages is not the only way to attract more workers. I believe that farms could attract workers by taking the focus off the wages being offered and concentrating on the other benefits of being a "Guest Worker" for a week or two each year.

I would love to get feedback on this idea and I would love to brainstorm with anyone who is capable to actually making this possible.

Real Changes You Can Make to Lower CO2 Emissions.

2007-05-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Forget fluorescent bulbs, forget lowering your heat settings. These two things are listed as the "easiest ways to lower your carbon footprint", but really these are a drop in the bucket compared to making lifestyle changes.

Change your lifestyle to make a real difference:

1) Move your household to within walking distance of your work. Make sure there is a decent school, grocery store, and transit access also within walking distance. Save the car for long trips or get rid of it entirely.

2) Get rid of lawns, lawnmowers and ornamental landscaping and replace with food crops. An area of garden space 8 feet square can produce all the vegetables needed for a family of 4. Food gardens are tended by hand rather than mowed, saving tons of CO2 emissions per year. If your home doesn't have a lawn, you can still make use of balconies, parking spaces, and roof tops by using the raised bed method of food production. If you are replacing a large lawn then replant with fruit trees, asparagus and other space hogging produce.

3) Support local farmers and learn to do without foods that must travel great distances to reach the market. Pineapples, mangoes, bananas, and oranges are examples of carbon expensive foods. Choose locally grown produce instead, such as apples, kiwi and cherries.

4) Buy fewer electronic toys and shut electronics off by unplugging them or using a power strip rather than leaving them in "Stand-by mode".

5) Reuse materials first and then recycle what is left. Refuse to buy items that are over packaged. Use cloth shopping bags. Take plastic bags back to the store where you got them, many stores will be happy to re-use them. Re-use plastic food boxes rather than buying tupperware. Refill juice bottles with homemade iced tea.

6) Stop buying bottled water. Get a good filter system and re-use the bottles you have.

7) Put up a clothes line and use it as often as possible. Use gray-water to water your garden. Use less detergents and soaps.

8) Donate usable items to charity and shop in charity stores first for items you need.

9) Take care of items so that they will last longer.

10) AFTER you have mastered the first 9 items on this list, then you can worry about fluorescent lighting and turning your heat down 1 degree.

Fruit and vegetables no longer eligible for Vegan label.

2007-05-04T10:23:00.000-07:00

Fully 80% of all fruits and vegetables appearing in American grocery stores and markets are pollinated by CAPTIVE BEES. The philosophy of Veganism prohibits the ingestion or use of ANY product that is made from animal (including insects) flesh or is the result of animals being held captive in order to gather products at their expense.

Captive bees are subjected to same types of unethical treatment that is common for all livestock including feedlot situations(hives are moved from orchard to orchard), robbery of their biological food(royal jelly and honey), and substitution of lower quality foods(sugar water and high fructose corn syrup). Recently, more than 25% of the bee hives in the United States have died due to an unidentified problem that has been labeled Colony Collapse Disorder. The disorder only seems to affect captive bees.

Of course all meat products are Non-vegan. Products such as honey, milk and eggs are also considered non-vegan, and now in light of the widespread use of CAPTIVE BEES in all facets of fruit, vegetable and soy bean production, those products are no longer truly Vegan. If a Vegan can't eat honey, then that person should also reject the other products made possible by the captive bee's efforts.

The TRUE Vegan's diet should now consist of ONLY grains and rice(which do not use bee pollination) and water. No other fruit or vegetables qualify unless the grower is certified to be using wild bees exclusively in crop pollination.

Cats, Dogs, and the Vegan Movement.

2007-05-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

I have seen a lot of information on Vegan diets for cats and dogs and I think that whole idea is just WRONG! Vegan's shouldn't keep "pets" at all. Holding a dog or cat hostage is no different than holding a chicken or cow hostage. Why not keep chickens for "pets" and then you can justify eating eggs as a by-product of having pet chickens around.

If you think your cat or dog is better off as a pet, you are wrong. In their natural idea of a life, they would have as many babies as possible and eat everything that they could catch. You probably get your pets fixed and feed them "Science Diet"....at least until it was recalled. This is not what nature intended for cats or dogs so it doesn't jive with the Vegan philosophy.

Using the arguement that dogs and cats are "domesticated" is no excuse for keeping them as pets. Sheep are so domesticated that they cannot survive in the wild in most parts of the world. To right that wrong, each of us should keep one as a pet to insure that it is well looked after. If each Vegan did that, then it would be ok to use the wool, since shearing is a requirement for a sheep's health and well being.

Picking and choosing which animals to use and which animals to abuse is part of the over all pattern of denying animal rights. Using 10,000 years of domestication as an excuse to continue the pattern doesn't make it right. Veganism is a choice to stop using and abusing all living creatures, whether the animal is a cow or a cat. Keeping either one as a pet denies that animal a natural and self-directed life.

Keeping a cat or dog and forcing them to exist on corn, rice and vegetables is just plain wrong. Part of being a good keeper is being prepared to feed that animal the food that is most natural and healthful. If you can't do that, then don't have pets. Or, if you must have pets, then pick pets that are naturally vegetarian.

No Vegan can justify owning another creature, period.

A Sad Funeral Announcement.

2007-04-30T13:26:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,
It is with the saddest heart that I pass on the following. Please join me in remembering a great icon.

The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and complications from repeated pokes in the belly. He was 71.

Doughboy was buried in a lightly-greased coffin. Dozens of celebrities turned out to pay their respects, including Mrs. Butterworth, Hungry Jack, the California Raisins, Betty Crocker, the Hostess Twinkies, and Cap'n Crunch. The grave site was piled high with flours as long- time friend, Aunt Jemima, delivered the eulogy, describing Doughboy as a man who never knew how much he was kneaded. Doughboy rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with turnovers. He was not considered a very "smart" cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Despite being a little flaky at times, he -- even still, as a crusty old man -- was considered a roll model for millions. Toward the end, it was thought he would rise again, but alas, he was no
tart.

Doughboy is survived by his wife, Play Dough; two children, John Dough and Jane Dough; plus they had one in the oven. He is also survived by his elderly father, Pop Tart.

The funeral was held at 3:50 for about twenty minutes.

;-)

Information Panic and Junk Science

2007-03-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

News and information enter our lives in endless torrents, flooding our senses to the overload point. The Media shouts the "news" at us in such a variety of ways that it can be very hard to pick out the real news behind the "news". Every story is trying to grab the headline only to be replaced by a new headline in days or even in minutes. Every "news" story claims to be giving the facts even when the stories conflict with one another. And, every story claims to be using "credible sources" meaning the story is accepted as true. In reality, news stories rarely contain ONLY truth or even ALL the truth. News stories contain the information that the writer wants you to know and nothing else.

Unfortunately writing is learned skill that can be used to the advantage of whoever is writing the paycheck. A story can "prove" just about any point the buyer wants to make. That is why advertising works so well; skilled writers suggest facts based on what they are hired to sell, so we see phrases like, "gets clothes 40% cleaner" 40% cleaner than what??? According to who??? What water temperature did they use???. The statement is based on someone's evaluation and may be true, but isn't a scientific fact that has been proven using accepted scientific practices. This is called "Junk Science"

"Junk Science" covers a whole range of company sponsored tests, studies and panel reviews, as well as unrepeatable clinical studies. Several large pharmaceutical companies have been in the news lately for using Junk Science to get bad drugs approved for human consumption. All science is not created equal and all news stories are not created equal either.

Some of the current sources of information include:
CNN and other news channels.
Discovery and other science based entertainment channels
Internet, including everything from personal websites to Published Scientific Journals
Printed Newspapers such as Seattle PI
News magazines such as Time and Newsweek
Charitable Infomercials like Feed the Children and CBN
Professional Journals like JAMA

News is news right? All news story details should be correct and presented in an unbiased manner right? WRONG! Most news gathering agencies are driven by advertisers that direct what is acceptable news for the publications they support with advertising dollars. Charities present "News" that supports the greatest chance of contributions. Professional Journals publish stories that meet Peer Review and so shun new and revolutionary ideas. Newspapers commonly print full page advertorials that may or may not have the "paid advertisement" notice depending on the paper's policies. Reporters regularly inflate or over-emphasize numbers to create interest in their stories. Most "news" is just hype, created to cause distress in the consumers and profits for the Media, period.

The next time you see a disturbing news story, ask yourself, "Who is profiting from this?" Then, check the citations to see where the journalist got the information. If there are no citations then the writer could have just written it without any facts at all, therefore, the information is useless. If citations are given, consider the sources. Are the sources web pages, blogs, charities, pharmaceutical companies or is the story based on University based clinical studies?? Does the information come from water-cooler gossip or the CDC?

Source evaluation
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Source evaluation is the skill of analysing information sources in order to assess their credibility. The ability to assess different sources of information is highly relevant to the task of operating within a complex information society. Engeldinger (1998) uses the term information literacy in order to describe the ability to recognize information when it is found, and further to determine if it is the best, most accurate, or most current information available.

To understand the news:

1) Look for citations.
2) Check to make sure the citations exist and have been used accurately.
3) Do the math & check it twice.
4) Think for yourself & use logic to decide if the story even makes sense.

For example the website for Inconvenient Truth includes this page:
http://www.climatecrisis.net/thescience/

It lists a group of "facts" about Global Warming and at the bottom gives the citations(Italics are my findings concerning the source cited):

1 According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), this era of global warming "is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin" and "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence of the global climate." The IPCC is completely devoted to "Special Report on Safeguarding the Ozone Layer and Global Climate System: Issues Related to Hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons (SROC/SROCF) "The IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters." In other words, IPCC is not interested in or paying attention to Global Warming. In fact IPCC is monitoring GLOBAL COOLING due to hydrofluorocarbons.

2 Emanuel, K. 2005. Increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30 years. Nature 436: 686-688. Online here: http://www.mindfully.org/Air/2005/Cyclone-Increasing-Destructive4aug05.htm A well written study but I have to point out that the author cites his own works and this is a big no-no in scientific circles. Also the material covered in the paper only goes back 70 years total so there is no way to know if this trend is new or part of a global cycle.

3 World Health Organization This is an incomplete citation. I did a search and found 600 documents on the web that use this same citation but when I searched on WHO's website not a single article supported this idea. Instead, "Malaria occurs in many regions of the country: the Pacific Coast Region, the Amazonian Region and the Central Region, and it is closely related with population movements resulting from the social situation in the country."

4 Krabill, W., E. Hanna, P. Huybrechts, W. Abdalati, J. Cappelen, B. Csatho, E. Frefick, S. Manizade, C. Martin, J, Sonntag, R. Swift, R. Thomas and J. Yungel. 2004. Greenland Ice Sheet: Increased coastal thinning. Geophysical Research Letters 31. Original Article Not Found.

5 Nature. Incomplete citation. Although 32,000 web pages seem to present this statement, proof of the original study is not available and without knowing what "Nature" refers to, we have no way of finding it.

6 World Health Organization This is an incomplete citation. A search of WHO's website showed no information on deaths caused by Global Warming at all

7 Washington Post, "Debate on Climate Shifts to Issue of Irreparable Change," Juliet Eilperin, January 29, 2006, Page A1. This is taken out of context. The paragraph this is quoted from:

Princeton University geosciences and international affairs professor Michael Oppenheimer, who also advises the advocacy group Environmental Defense, said one of the greatest dangers lies in the disintegration of the Greenland or West Antarctic ice sheets, which together hold about 20 percent of the fresh water on the planet. If either of the two sheets disintegrates, sea level could rise nearly 20 feet in the course of a couple of centuries, swamping the southern third of Florida and Manhattan up to the middle of Greenwich Village.

8 Arctic Climate Impact Assessment. 2004. Impacts of a Warming Arctic. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Also quoted in Time Magazine, Vicious Cycles, Missy Adams, March 26, 2006. This paper is available online as part of a 1200 page document. The Article "Vicious Cycles" is available here: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1177014,00.html
and says "sea levels could rise nearly 220 ft. (72 m). That's a worst-case scenario." Missy Adams is an internet-research journalist that specializes in short essays (375 words seems to be her limit.)

9 Time Magazine, Feeling the Heat, David Bjerklie, March 26, 2006. Quote: One study estimates that more than a million species worldwide could be driven to extinction by the year 2050 David did not give a citation so I have no idea who did the study. This is the ONLY thing he has written for TIME.

This is a very good case for Junk Science. The Author of this page has used very bad citations and in doing so invalidates the points given on the page.

In closing: Please START THINKING FOR YOURSELF!

In Favor of Sustainable Building

2007-03-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

Housing is an ongoing problem in America. It is expensive, impersonal and for many inadequate and inaccessible. Having a place to call your own is one of the most basic needs for human beings, yet a large portion of us are forced to live in a succession of rental places at the whims of uncaring and greedy landlords. But....that is a rant for another day.

My ancestors came from Ireland, England and Germany mostly in the 1870's and 1880's. Both sets of ancestors eventually made their way across the country to Oregon and then to the Pacific Northwest. When my mother's parents got here the first thing they did was buy a small piece of land and then built a home. The home wasn't fancy, it wasn't huge but it lasted for over 40 years and never carried a mortgage. The oldest part of the home was a log cabin built from the trees on the property. Later additions were added in stone and in salvaged lumber as space was needed and materials could be purchased.

When my grandfather had an especially large project, he would call on all the neighbors...to raise a ridge pole or lay cedar shakes or to build a stone addition for the new summer kitchen, just as the neighbors would call on him when there was work to be done at their places. Community was built along with homes and great friendships were forged that have endured a lifetime.

This last spring, my partner and I moved into a tri-plex. We have been here over a year and can only recognize 2 of the other tenants here and do not know any of our neighbors. The apartment is expensive and eats up about 1/3 of our income to offer 2 bedrooms, 1 tiny bath and a tiny kitchen, all built and finished to the standards of 1970's slum housing. We are not alone. Here in Seattle, housing is always at a premium. I would love to fix the place up but my lease says otherwise.

Homes do not exist for renters, instead we live in drywalled shoeboxes, but the cost of buying a house is impossible to manage. I would love to follow in my grandfather's footsteps and buy a lot and build a house but I suspect that building a log cabin in Seward park would probably get me a visit from the planning department and maybe even the police. The Seattle building department, like most other building departments, have set rules concerning building materials and methods that can be used to build a house.

To quote: In order to obtain a permit for new construction, additions and remodels, customers must provide
King County with the following:
A. Affidavit for Application Form;
B. Property Tax Account Number;
C. Legal Description of Property (three copies);
D. Proof of Legal Lot;
E. Site Plan (or Plot Plan) (on DDES template, to an engineer's scale, with no brokenlines. See text; three copies.);
F. Working Drawings (See text for requirements; two copies.);
G. Information on Heating Systems, Fireplaces and Stoves;
H. Critical Area Designation Approval (If installing new septic or well system)
I. Certificate of Sewer Availability and Related Documents;
Obtaining A Residential Building Permit
J. Certificate of Water Availability and Related Documents;
K. Valuation for Special Site Items;
L. Fees for Reviews Completed Before Permit Approval;
M. Contractors Registration Number OR Affidavit Regarding Contractor Registration; and
N. Miscellaneous.

WHEW!!

No wonder we do not build our own homes anymore. Just the paperwork is worth paying someone $400,000 to do it for us...right?

In reality most of the "rules" are in place not to protect a perspective owner/build but rather to protect home buyers from shady contractors. The "rules" list has been expanded every time a person has been injured in their home, or when quality complaints start coming in. The rules are in place to protect home buyers from bad workmanship, cheap materials, and corner cutting but what these "rules" have really done is isolate the home owner from the process of building the home. Most homeowners can barely clean out their gutters, let alone replace a window or add a room. Nearly all the maintenance and repair of the modern home must be handed over to "professionals" because the homeowner has no idea what may be inside the walls or in the eves of their own home.

America has mostly given in to the pressure by buying stick made homes, built by professionals, and by calling a contractor every time something leaks, rattles or breaks. The result of this is that people no longer feel any connection to their homes. Homes have become something to trade up or flip. And, ironically, home construction is just as bad as it ever was. Cheap spec homes are put on the market everyday. They are built by day laborers, using cheap materials. Then everything is drywalled and painted "contractor-white-flat-latex", and the future buyer thinks they are getting a great house. Wrong! They are getting a house that will not last as long as their mortgage and in most cases they do not care because they are going to sell it in 5 or 10 years anyhow.

Personally, I am not buying it. I miss the days of building a home from what ever materials were available whether it be a soddy or adobe or straw bales or stone. Building a home built connection to the world and community we live in and respect for the nature of our planet. We are much poorer beings for having lost this.

More information on Handmade Homes:

Strawbale Construction:
http://www.strawbale.com/

Thatch:
http://www.roofthatch.com/

Building with Cob:
http://www.cobcottage.com/

Green Homes:
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/

Papercrete Houses
http://www.northcoast.com/~tms/papercrete.html

Peak Oil and Global Warming

2007-03-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

How will global warming affect my lifestyle? How does Peak oil affect the Global Warming Theory?

These issues are both on America's social mind now as we are bombarded daily with the possible scenarios associated with each. I propose a new idea that connects the two issues to create a more probable scenario: Petroleum reserves will run out before the climate is substantially changed for the worse.

We have all seen the movie by Al Gore, An Inconvenient Truth, and according to that idea, our use of Petroleum products is causing global warming. This idea states that by the year 2100 the sea levels will rise 110 to 770 mm (0.36 to 2.5 feet), causing widespread flooding.The world average temperature will go up by 2 to 5 degrees celsius causing widespread famine.

I see a few problems with this whole notion:

1) This assumes that we will still be using petroleum in the year 2100 when all forecasts show that oil is running out and world use of it will have to decline over the next 90 years until finally it will be too expensive and too scarce to be worth using. According to the Hubbert Prediction oil usage in the year 2100 will be about the same as the usage in the year 1930 and by 2150 98% of the world reserves of oil will be gone causing usage to drop to preindustrial levels.

As people look to other methods of energy production, petroleum will be phased out. Assuming that newer technologies and energy sources will be inherently less likely to produce CO2 and other greenhouse gases, then naturally the CO2 levels will even out and begin to drop.

2) Temperature increases of 2 to 5 degrees will actually add thousands of acres to the worldwide supply of arable farmland. This acreage is already beginning to show up in the northern United States and Southern Canada in the form of longer growing seasons and hotter summers. With a 5 degree increase in temperate these areas go from 220 frost free days to 265 frost free days. This part of the US and Canada represents vast tracks of land that is too cool for farming now, but becomes the world bread basket with just an additional 5 degrees climate change. As desert lands, already depleted and marginal, become unable to grow food, huge fresh tracks will become farmable.

3) As Co2 levels rise, temperatures rise. As temperature and CO2 increase, plant growth increases and absorbs the CO2. The higher the CO2 concentrations is the faster plants will grow. Commercial greenhouses actually supplement CO2 levels by burning methane or propane. Plants absorb CO2 continually during their growing periods in amounts equal to about 90% of the plants mass, so a plant weighing 10 pounds has absorbed about 9 pounds of CO2 to achieve that mass. A tree will absorb tons of CO2 over it's lifespan. As more land becomes capable of growing trees instead of just grass, more CO2 is locked into these long term storehouses.

Peak oil and Global Warming are intertwined in a way that each will be affected by the other. As Oil runs out more and more crops will be grown for bio-diesel. These crops will lock hundred of thousands of tons of CO2 into the green mass and will recycle the current CO2 levels back into usable fuels. Bio-diesels release 45% less CO2 than conventional fuels so the more we use the less CO2 will be released. I can actually see a point in the far future where low CO2 levels become a problem.

Worth Looking at.

2007-03-22T22:17:00.000-07:00

http://eartheasy.com/live_menu.htm

10 Way to Survive Post Oil

2007-03-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

This is borrowed from: http://eartheasy.com/article_ten_ways_post_oil.htm

The best way to feel hopeful about our looming energy crisis is to get active now and prepare for living arrangements in a post-oil society.

Out in the public arena, people frequently twang on me for being "Mister Gloom'n'doom," or for "not offering any solutions" to our looming energy crisis. So, for those of you who are tired of wringing your hands, who would like to do something useful, or focus your attention in a purposeful way, here are my suggestions:

1. Expand your view beyond the question of how we will run all the cars by means other than gasoline. This obsession with keeping the cars running at all costs could really prove fatal. It is especially unhelpful that so many self-proclaimed "greens" and political "progressives" are hung up on this monomaniacal theme. Get this: the cars are not part of the solution (whether they run on fossil fuels, vodka, used frymax™ oil, or cow shit). They are at the heart of the problem. And trying to salvage the entire Happy Motoring system by shifting it from gasoline to other fuels will only make things much worse. The bottom line of this is: start thinking beyond the car. We have to make other arrangements for virtually all the common activities of daily life.

2. We have to produce food differently. The Monsanto/Cargill model of industrial agribusiness is heading toward its Waterloo. As oil and gas deplete, we will be left with sterile soils and farming organized at an unworkable scale. Many lives will depend on our ability to fix this. Farming will soon return much closer to the center of American economic life. It will necessarily have to be done more locally, at a smaller-and-finer scale, and will require more human labor. The value-added activities associated with farming -- e.g. making products like cheese, wine, oils -- will also have to be done much more locally. This situation presents excellent business and vocational opportunities for America's young people (if they can unplug their Ipods long enough to pay attention.) It also presents huge problems in land-use reform. Not to mention the fact that the knowledge and skill for doing these things has to be painstakingly retrieved from the dumpster of history. Get busy.

3. We have to inhabit the terrain differently. Virtually every place in our nation organized for car dependency is going to fail to some degree. Quite a few places (Phoenix, Las Vegas, Miami ...) will support only a fraction of their current populations. We'll have to return to traditional human ecologies at a smaller scale: villages, towns, and cities (along with a productive rural landscape). Our small towns are waiting to be reinhabited. Our cities will have to contract. The cities that are composed proportionately more of suburban fabric (e.g. Atlanta, Houston) will pose especially tough problems. Most of that stuff will not be fixed. The loss of monetary value in suburban property will have far-reaching ramifications. The stuff we build in the decades ahead will have to be made of regional materials found in nature -- as opposed to modular, snap-together, manufactured components -- at a more modest scale. This whole process will entail enormous demographic shifts and is liable to be turbulent. Like farming, it will require the retrieval of skill-sets and methodologies that have been forsaken. The graduate schools of architecture are still tragically preoccupied with teaching Narcissism. The faculties will have to be overthrown. Our attitudes about land-use will have to change dramatically. The building codes and zoning laws will eventually be abandoned and will have to be replaced with vernacular wisdom. Get busy.

4. We have to move things and people differently. This is the sunset of Happy Motoring (including the entire US trucking system). Get used to it. Don't waste your society's remaining resources trying to prop up car-and-truck dependency. Moving things and people by water and rail is vastly more energy-efficient. Need something to do? Get involved in restoring public transit. Let's start with railroads, and let's make sure we electrify them so they will run on things other than fossil fuel or, if we have to run them partly on coal-fired power plants, at least scrub the emissions and sequester the CO2 at as few source-points as possible. We also have to prepare our society for moving people and things much more by water. This implies the rebuilding of infrastructure for our harbors, and also for our inland river and canal systems -- including the towns associated with them. The great harbor towns, like Baltimore, Boston, and New York, can no longer devote their waterfronts to condo sites and bikeways. We actually have to put the piers and warehouses back in place (not to mention the sleazy accommodations for sailors). Right now, programs are underway to restore maritime shipping based on wind -- yes, sailing ships. It's for real. Lots to do here. Put down your Ipod and get busy.

5. We have to transform retail trade. The national chains that have used the high tide of fossil fuels to contrive predatory economies-of-scale (and kill local economies) -- they are going down. WalMart and the other outfits will not survive the coming era of expensive, scarcer oil. They will not be able to run the "warehouses-on-wheels" of 18-wheel tractor-trailers incessantly circulating along the interstate highways. Their 12,000-mile supply lines to the Asian slave-factories are also endangered as the US and China contest for Middle East and African oil. The local networks of commercial interdependency which these chain stores systematically destroyed (with the public's acquiescence) will have to be rebuilt brick-by-brick and inventory-by-inventory. This will require rich, fine-grained, multi-layered networks of people who make, distribute, and sell stuff (including the much-maligned "middlemen"). Don't be fooled into thinking that the Internet will replace local retail economies. Internet shopping is totally dependent now on cheap delivery, and delivery will no longer be cheap. It also is predicated on electric power systems that are completely reliable. That is something we are unlikely to enjoy in the years ahead. Do you have a penchant for retail trade and don't want to work for a big predatory corporation? There's lots to do here in the realm of small, local business. Quit carping and get busy.

6. We will have to make things again in America. However, we are going to make less stuff. We will have fewer things to buy, fewer choices of things. The curtain is coming down on the endless blue-light-special shopping frenzy that has occupied the forefront of daily life in America for decades. But we will still need household goods and things to wear. As a practical matter, we are not going to re-live the 20th century. The factories from America's heyday of manufacturing (1900 - 1970) were all designed for massive inputs of fossil fuel, and many of them have already been demolished. We're going to have to make things on a smaller scale by other means. Perhaps we will have to use more water power. The truth is, we don't know yet how we're going to make anything. This is something that the younger generations can put their minds and muscles into.

7. The age of canned entertainment is coming to and end. It was fun for a while. We liked "Citizen Kane" and the Beatles. But we're going to have to make our own music and our own drama down the road. We're going to need playhouses and live performance halls. We're going to need violin and banjo players and playwrights and scenery-makers, and singers. We'll need theater managers and stage-hands. The Internet is not going to save canned entertainment. The Internet will not work so well if the electricity is on the fritz half the time (or more).

8. We'll have to reorganize the education system. The centralized secondary school systems based on the yellow school bus fleets will not survive the coming decades. The huge investments we have made in these facilities will impede the transition out of them, but they will fail anyway. Since we will be a less-affluent society, we probably won't be able to replace these centralized facilities with smaller and more equitably distributed schools, at least not right away. Personally, I believe that the next incarnation of education will grow out of the home schooling movement, as home schooling efforts aggregate locally into units of more than one family. God knows what happens beyond secondary ed. The big universities, both public and private, may not be salvageable. And the activity of higher ed itself may engender huge resentment by those foreclosed from it. But anyone who learns to do long division and write a coherent paragraph will be at a great advantage -- and, in any case, will probably out-perform today's average college graduate. One thing for sure: teaching children is not liable to become an obsolete line-of-work, as compared to public relations and sports marketing. Lots to do here, and lots to think about. Get busy, future teachers of America.

9. We have to reorganize the medical system. The current skein of intertwined rackets based on endless Ponzi buck passing scams will not survive the discontinuities to come. We will probably have to return to a model of service much closer to what used to be called "doctoring." Medical training may also have to change as the big universities run into trouble functioning. Doctors of the 21st century will certainly drive fewer German cars, and there will be fewer opportunities in the cosmetic surgery field. Let's hope that we don't slide so far back that we forget the germ theory of disease, or the need to wash our hands, or the fundamentals of pharmaceutical science. Lots to do here for the unsqueamish.

10. Life in the USA will have to become much more local, and virtually all the activities of everyday life will have to be re-scaled. You can state categorically that any enterprise now supersized is likely to fail -- everything from the federal government to big corporations to huge institutions. If you can find a way to do something practical and useful on a smaller scale than it is currently being done, you are likely to have food in your cupboard and people who esteem you. An entire social infrastructure of voluntary associations, co-opted by the narcotic of television, needs to be reconstructed. Local institutions for care of the helpless will have to be organized. Local politics will be much more meaningful as state governments and federal agencies slide into complete impotence. Lots of jobs here for local heroes.

So, that's the task list for now. Forgive me if I left things out. Quit wishing and start doing. The best way to feel hopeful about the future is to get off your ass and demonstrate to yourself that you are a capable, competent individual resolutely able to face new circumstances.

James Howard Kunstler is a leading writer on the topic of peak oil the problems it poses for American suburbia. Deeply concerned about the future of our petroleum dependent society, Kunstler believes we must take radical steps to avoid the total meltdown of modern society in the face looming oil and gas shortages. For background on this topic, read Kunstler's essay, "Pricey Gas, That's Reality."

See the original post at: http://eartheasy.com/article_ten_ways_post_oil.htm

"I'd put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope that we don't have to wait 'til oil and coal run out before we tackle that." — Thomas A. Edison (1847-1931)