IT'S GOOD TO BE GREEN!

Out of many things I'm learning about being "green" (or environmentally conscious) each and every day as I build onto this blog is that both my actions and words matter.

Spreading Information Over The Internet

Whether it's through social forums, blogs, Twitter, comment posting on news sites, etc. these Internet communication avenues are often the best ways to share one's knowledge, as more than half of us in this world tune in online for the information we seek on a daily basis. The Internet is the new way of communicating (particularly on a global level) and for anyone who hasn't had their head in the sand for say the past 10 years knows this!

Community Action

Getting involved with at least one group or organization in your community is the best way to spread the word locally about environmental issues. You will make yourself available to those in your community through education, whether it's in your neighborhood, through your local school systems, or at local fairs and events! It's also a great way for you to learn about what's happening in your community and pinpoint additional opportunities for "green" projects.

Take A Stand At A Global Level

The world is your oyster as you surf the net! Expand your friendships and include those people you know through online social forums and workplace contacts. Spreading your "green" word to those you are unlikely to include in your personal life expands your horizons and builds on the knowledge you and others already have.

Keep Your Options Open!

Always look for alternative ways of sharing your "green" ideas. Artistic endeavors, discussions with your local shop owner, talking to children, or sharing with your elders are all effective ways of communicating your "green" knowledge.

Garden Raid Your Neighbors Backyard!

Connecting apartment dwellers with owners of local land can often be the only way for urban gardeners to grow a prosperous and edible garden. Sharing Backyards, an initiative of the Lifecycles Project Society, has a solution for this with user friendly land share listings on their website and a map to connect you to your closest neighbor with yard space. Sharing Backyards will even set you up with a program in your city!

See Links Below For Details:

SharingBackyards.com

Article On "Virtual Gardening" - Sharing Backyards

LifeCycles Project Society

*Sharing Backyards is seeking support from advertisers for their website!

Eat Where You Live!

Sustainable farming, local food co-ops and farmers markets are the way to go in a time of fossil fuel uncertainty. It's also a great way to support your community, get to know your local farmers, and eat fresh and healthy meals! Here's a few links I picked up in the Victoria BC area as well as a great food co-op located in Brooklyn NY, in case you want to pack it up and move to a brownstone on the east coast!

POCKET MARKETS

LOCAL FARMERS GROCERY MARKET

ORGANIC/LOCAL FOOD DELIVERY

PARK SLOPE FOOD COOP - BROOKLYN, NY

ALSO: Check out local farmers/craft markets on the weekends! Victoria BC has many in and around the city! List Here

T’Sou-ke Nation Reconnecting With The Sun

The T’Sou-ke Nation in Sooke BC finds a better way to energize their community and educate the public...Click Here!

Strength Through Joy statement (2nd August, 1938)

As of August 1 [1938], the great savings programme for the People's Car 'Strength-Through-Joy' will begin. I herewith proclaim the conditions under which every working person, can acquire an automobile.

1. Each German, without distinction of class, profession, or property can become the purchaser of a Volkswagen.

2. The minimum weekly payment, insurance included, will be 5 marks. Regular payment of this amount will guarantee, after a period which is yet to be determined, the acquisition of a Volkswagen. The precise period will be determined upon the beginning of production.

3. Application for the Volkswagen savings programme can be made at any office of the German Labour Front and of 'Strength Through Joy', where further details can also be obtained. Factories and shops can submit collective orders.

A Volkswagen for every German—let that be our aim. That is what we want to achieve. Will all of you help in that; it shall be our way of saying 'thank you' to the Führer.

A Few Chemicals To Watch Out For When Cleaning Your Home & Office!

The Toxic Clean!

5 Myths About Cleaning Your Home!

1. The faster a product works, the better it is.

Truth: The faster a product works, the more toxic it is!

2. Natural cleaners such as Baking Soda and Vinegar are not as effective.

Truth: Vinegar and Baking Soda are great products and often better cleaning solutions if you use these correctly. SEE BELOW FOR USES

3. You must use a strong disinfectant to kill germs.

Truth:Sunlight dish detergent(mixed with water)is a great surface cleaner that kills bad germs and keeps the good ones there to stay!

4. More laundry detergent means cleaner clothes.

Truth:A 1/4 cup or less of laundry detergent is all you need to keep your clothes clean.

REMEMBER! Fabric softeners are needed when clothing fibers are filled with excess detergent! DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY!

5. You need a wide variety of different cleaning solutions for every household cleaning job.

Truth:
WHAT I WOULD RECOMMEND!

CLEANING SOLUTIONS

Baking Soda
Vinegar
Sunlight Soap/Dish Detergent
Borax
Lemon Juice
Orange/Lemon Oil/Hemp Oil - polishing furniture

BASIC TOOLS

Green Scrub Pads - Heavy Duty and Regular
Micro-Fiber Cloths - Vileda Brand
Old Toothbrushes - great for sink fixtures and drains!
Fleece Baby Blankets - for rags
Bucket/Mop


How To Use Baking Soda

Use as a paste mixed with water for:

Showers
Tile
Toilets
Bathtubs
Sinks
Dishes
Stove tops and grills
Ovens(vinegar, lemon juice, water and baking soda paste) Let sit overnight!
Lightly wipe (non-abrasive cloth) stains off of walls, cupboards and baseboards, as well as floors!
REMEMBER! Always rinse well and avoid using abrasive scrub brushes if possible!

How To Use Vinegar

Vinegar Mixed with 2-3 parts water for:

Windows
Wood surfaces
Dusting furniture
Floors
Bathroom fixtures
Washing walls
Cleaning coffee makers
Stainless steel sinks and appliances

Vinegar Mixed With Baking Soda And Water:

Ovens (plus lemon juice)
Stove tops
Bath tubs
Sinks

Vinegar Mixed with Water, Lemon Juice and/or Natural Oils Such As Lavender:

Dusting
Microwave Ovens


USES FOR BORAX:

Basic Cleaner
Laundry - Water Softener
Natural disinfectant
Bug Repellent!

WASHING YOUR HANDS?

Good old soap such as Olive Oil based soap!

Some thoughts on the new GM

I'm obviously not an economist, but historical precedent alone is enough to convince me the new GM will also fail. There's so many reasons. It's hard to even think this when even the BBC is being so positive about it. Where to start?

1) It is 61% owned by the US Government. Ignoring the fact that nationalised industry is supposed to be a "commie evil" that Americans loathe (and most Americans are against the bailouts anyway), the fact is, no government is equipped to guide a car company from massive losses to even minimal profit. That's not really what Government is for anyway; even it /was/ full of auto industry experts I'd actually be worried. If GM's own executives, for generations now, have failed to adapt to market changes, how can Obama's fancy taskforce, likewise made up of, err, white, upper middle class nobodies...? The drain of GM on the US economy may even bring down Obama in the end.

2) The market, despite rosey predictions, will never pick up to where it was. And we can assume that if it does reach previous levels, customers of Toyota, Nissan, Honda, VW, Hyundai, Kia and the now-kicking-ass Ford are hardly likely to flock to buy a GM (or a Chrysler - oh wait, they only sell trucks and minivans). Only the French and Italians support their domestic manufacturers with blind loyalty. Not even the British bought Leyland to the same level after it was nationalised to prevent collapse. The market is naturally shrinking to a more sustainable level. There are already too many companies building too many cars. There is no longer any room for GM or Chrysler. They remain the weakest players, no matter what anyone says.

3) Can we compare this to BL? I think so. BL, like GM, was a massive operation employing thousands of people across many inefficient and antiquated factories, selling too many brands and failing to adapt as fast as the next wave of successful companies. It was simply unthinkable to "let them fail" so they were propped up year after year with public money. Brands were shed, leaders replaced, new guys brought in, mergers attempted, parts sold off. All it does is slow the decline whilst costing everyone a lot more in the long run (and what about the damage to other companies, especially Ford, by keeping two subsidized players in the game?). The new GM will not magically sell enough cars now to be profitable. They didn't sell them last year, why would they now? They have fewer dealers and fewer incentives. They've also reduced their capacity to build new cars, so even if they do want to ramp up in response to the market, they can't. Also, doesn't it strike you as unfair that a company can screw it up for so long, file for Chapter 11, sell the best bits to the same guys, shed the worst bits with half the debt, and then try again, all the while being funded by the public of two countries?

GET A LOAD OF CO2 AND SHOVE IT INTO THE GROUND FOREVER?! WHO ARE WE KIDDING?!

CAPTURING CARBON - article here!

Plastic Bag Overload In India!

New Delhi's poor and impoverished collect an overwhelming amount of plastic bags off the streets of India's capital for fashion?!

See "Bags to Riches" Podcast July 02/08, 2009 at: CBC Radio One - Dispatches