Earth Day 2011 - The War on the Environment

Every year we observe Earth Day by going to festivals and donating to organizations to support a commitment to work on causes ranging from going green to stopping pollution.   “Woo hoo…. Earth!”  While writing this piece, I burned electricity watching a commercial about the best dish detergent to wash the oil off ducks.   Next commercial featured dune buggies racing through the desert.  I’m so happy (whining). 

That company is using the oil spill disaster that killed people and tons of wildlife to advertise a detergent that is made of chemicals that poison our waterways.  Speeding through a beautiful desert spewing noxious fumes for the hell of it… really?  Flip the script already!  I’m still waiting to see the commercial about the detergent company at the detox center saying, “My name is ____ and I’m a polluter.  I’m here to say that I’m going to stop.”  Clap, clap, clap.  “Watcha gonna do?”  “Well, I can’t quit cold turkey, but I’m going to start by taking the diethanolamine out.”  DEA is a foaming agent and a carcinogen.  Suds don’t clean dishes.  If the oil doesn’t kill the duck, the detergent will… painfully slow. 

Some politicians want to cut, slash and burn the Environmental Protection Agency and gut the Clean Water Act.  The EPA’s mission is to protect human health and the environment.   To p-r-o-t-e-c-t … all of us.  The CWA is the structure for regulating point source (discharging from a single location) pollutants into waters.  I’ll stretch it, but those politicians want to allow certain people to kill us… but not softly, of course. 

What is this reckless mad war on the environment?  It is money.  That’s it.  It costs more to do it ‘like’ right.  I don’t dig that notion.   Raise livestock humanely and there is no need for high-priced antibiotics; grow organic and there is no need for expensive pesticides; keep chemicals out of detergent and there is no need for costly solvents to dissolve those ingredients.  Voilà, I just made it ‘like’ right. 

Each of us is an eco-tyrant.  Our mere existence has an adverse impact on the environment.  Most of us are mini-tyrants; just a small footprint on the earth.  Many of us have ameliorated our impacts by doing ‘green’ things.  We are the eco-warriors, rebels supporting the cause.  Fight the power!  Earth Day is about all of us and our future.  We are the ones we have been waiting for to make the world a better place.  “… for you and for me…”  It’s not hard or expensive to do the right thing.  Just don’t walk down the aisle reeking from the perfumes obscuring the smell of those poisonous detergents.  Make your stuff at home.  Turn off the lights.  Put the trash in the can.  Done!

The Darker Side of Green


Do we lack interest in the environment to our detriment?  Yes, we do. 

Our environment is fundamental to our health.  Health and vitality are determined by environmental factors.  Our community does not have control over broad decisions that affect our environs.  The chemicals and radiation are produced by industry and we are the customers.  Transportation, development and land uses are determined by business and governments and we are the users.  We need to change these realities and make decisions from the base consumption level that will tilt the environment towards our favor.   How?  There are many ways and lots of ideas to help.

The starting point is us.  We can avoid living in degraded conditions and buying chemical laden food and products.  We can keep our neighborhoods clean; cook healthy meals at home; and make our cleaning and personal products ourselves.  We can reduce excessive driving; try not to live too far from work, family and friends; and we can vote for representatives who support our agenda.  My family has changed over the years and we re-use, recycle and make stuff at home as best we can.  We compost and we have started our organic garden.  It has been hard to change habits, but we are now rewarded with lower utility bills; smaller grocery tabs; and good health.

Do we lack interest in green jobs to our disadvantage?  Absolutely. 

We also disregard the potential for high-paying careers and business opportunities in biology, ecology, botany, geology and other environmental disciplines.  We could be working in the beautiful outdoors hiking, researching or boating in consulting, recreational and public service domains.  Getting paid and having fun; sweet!  We could be making development decisions; grant decisions; and corporate decisions involving huge amounts of funds that could affect the bottom lines; dollars and our environmental future.  There is an extreme absence of persons of color in green careers.  Why?  There are too many reasons to count and not enough studies to back up theories. 

The initial effort begins with us.  We need to be educated in these fields in order to make a difference.  The ready, willing and able are the ones who can take advantage of opportunity.  My parents prepared me by allowing me and my siblings to run through the woods and streams.  Our Dad owned a fish store when we were kids.  We grew up with a house full of fish, hamsters and dogs.  We were not wealthy, but we had parents who supported us and allowed us to explore.   Education was most important in our upbringing; following the footsteps of our educated aunts, uncles, grandparents, cousins and other extended relations.   We must educate ourselves and our children in ecological topics and support our families as they learn and grow towards green professions.

The darker side of green must materialize; otherwise, the negative trends of economic distress and environmental injustice will continue to adversely impact our community. 

Black Organic is here.   Are you coming?

Food Future

Gardening is our future.  We must grow our own food on our own terms.  Why?  Commercial food is tainted and t’aint healthy.   A huge proportion of large agri-business farm foodstuff is genetically modified organism (GMO) or hybrid.  GMO products have been genetically changed by inserting animal or other plant genes into vegetables and fruits grown for human or animal consumption.  Hybrids are plants where the traits of two or more plants are combined to create a plant with a particular desired result such as color, texture or sturdiness. The goal is to get a faster growing; larger volume; or disease resistant food, nutrition be darned.  This stuff is not natural and the result is a sickly obese population. 

These man-made creations are designed to maximize profit and destroy small and organic farmers.  Once a farmer goes GMO, he cannot go back.  These farmers are not allowed to collect seeds from their fields.  They are hooked to the GMO seed seller like crack dealers.  Every year, they must go back to the seller for new expensive seeds.  If your small farm or garden gets contaminated by the nearby GMO field pollen, you become the crack head; mind lost over dizzying lawsuits for “stealing” GMO.  Agri-business and the food producing industry wield so much power that the majority of farm subsidies goes to them, not the small farmer or farmers of hue.  We support this nonsense because we do not grow our own food.  Let’s change the dynamic and live happier healthier lives.

I will be organic gardening with my sister this year.  We purchased heirloom organic seeds and we will not use pesticides or herbicides.  We started our seeds indoors and they are already sprouting.  We will grow some now and save some of our seeds for next year.  Organic seeds can be purchased from local markets or garden stores and these can be grown over the next two years.  These seeds are not packed for long term storage, so get to gardening.

We also purchased a variety of heirloom seeds, correctly packed, that can be stored for the next ten years or so.  We will also gather seeds produced by our fruits and vegetables, dry them and plant them.  You can purchase longer term seeds from a survivalist or emergency seed bank.  Be cautious about the packaging.  You must not purchase seeds wrapped in plastic.  Look for acid free paper and air.  If the seeds are frozen, quality and germination potential can be lost.  Store your container in a cool dark dry place.  If you want to store them in a can or bucket, poke holes in the container to allow air flow.  If ever there becomes a devastating emergency, you must know how to start and maintain your garden.  Purchase books or print off web pages and pack the information in a water tight container.  Study this information and grow in knowledge along with the garden that you start this year.

The world is already in food crisis.  Prices are escalating fast and many cannot afford to buy the appropriate foods for proper nutrition.  We must take steps now to prevent food security problems.  Find a spot in your yard or patio for container gardening; work with a friend or family member who has a sunlit backyard; or go to a community farm or coalition.  Obtain a plot of land and get to work.  Gardening can be tough and it can be fun.  In the end, you will save lots of money; improve your health; and you may be able to barter your produce for goods and services. 

Get going and tell me.  “How does your garden grow?”

Thanks: publicdomainpictures.net

No Sweat!

Men perspire, women glow and we all fret about the sweat that leaves us wet and yet, we continue to bet, incorrect, that the duet of deodorant and antiperspirant on the market would offset the upset about the smell of our sweat.   Underarm cosmetics are hazardous to our health.  Most of the compounds we roll and rub into our armpits contain synthetic perfumes and toxic components that have been linked to brain and respiratory disorders as well as cancers.  Aluminum salts are central to preventing sweat and odor from discharging through our pores.  The problem is that our bodies are designed to emit fluids to control temperature.  Sweating is natural and is critical for survival. When the fatty acids and proteins in our sweat break down and bacteria get involved, the combination emits a hostile odor.  When we try to stop this natural function, we absorb and retain the toxins and cause lymph and sweat gland problems and other health complaints. 

There are natural alternatives to odor management.  Sodium hydrogen carbonate or sodium bicarbonate, the chemical composition of baking soda, is a nontoxic odor neutralizer and scrubbing agent.  Cornstarch, the starch of a corn grain, is a thickening agent and stabilizer and can help control moisture and odor.  Many have tried one or both ingredients and they do work.  However, some complain about skin irritation and excessive dryness; the lack of fragrance of the mixture; the application to the skin; or other valid reasons.   Most of the criticism can be overcome by the addition of coconut oil to bind and temper the ingredients and essential oils for fragrance. 

Recipe

1/4 cup baking soda
1/4 cup corn starch (or substitute arrow root powder)
about 5 tablespoons extra virgin organic coconut oil

a few drops of your favorite essential oil (optional)

In a short wide mouthed glass jar, add the baking soda and cornstarch.  Mix well.  Place a few tablespoons of solid coconut oil into glass bowl.  Place that bowl into a larger bowl of warm water to melt the oil or use room temperature melted oil.  Pour 5 tablespoons of oil into the powder and stir.  Let the mixture rest.  (use any leftover oil on your skin or hair)

The mixture will solidify in cooler temperatures and liquefy in warm temperatures.   When using this mixture, I use scrape about a fingertip amount out of the jar and rub under each armpit.  The heat from your fingers will melt the oil.  You may feel slight grittiness upon application, but that grittiness dissolves as it warms on your skin.  

The Co²Soda recipe works great.  It takes me through long days at work and it has staying power through 3 karate classes on Saturday mornings.  I have no odor; no allergic reaction; and no skin irritation. 

You may find about ½ cup of poisonous commercial deodorant for about $4 to $6 or you can make the same amount of Co²Soda from edible ingredients for pennies.  

Try it out.  If you usually use an antiperspirant, give yourself time to adjust.   If you experience skin irritation, add a bit more coconut oil.  If you are allergic to any of the ingredients, try one of the dry ingredients or substitute olive oil.

Let me know if it works for you.

Loud and Wrong

The screams to cut funding to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are bothersome.  What do some folks not understand about the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment?   The EPA is us and for us.  The EPA is the champion of clean, green and mean.  The EPA will make you wipe it up with eco-friendly stuff and smack you if you don’t come correct.   

Will those budget cutters forgo the benefits of the EPA?  California is polluted with a toxic cocktail that has scarred the lungs of many.  The Appalachia region waters are filled with the soils of the mountain tops and the Gulf of Mexico has a dead zone where fish and plants cannot survive.   Lands throughout our country are hazardous waste sites ranging from dry cleaners and gas stations to piles of rocks contaminated with metals from mining and heavy industrial use.  The EPA is responsible for protecting (at this point, recovering) the air, land and water that has been vandalized by the American corporate way of life. 

Some of the moneyed interests have so suckered the great uneducated, that the hoodwinked are now singing the company blues.  “Da, da, da, dah, dum.  I got the blues.  Da, da, da, dah, dum.   Yeah, this is America and I should be able to make as much money as I want and don’t care about anything else ‘cause it’s my money and … so be it… blues.  Da, da, da, dah, dum.  Yeah.” 

These people are ‘idjits’ and we should put them in a locked room and serve them a constant feast of foul water; noxious air; filthy furnishings; and contaminated food to contemplate while they sit there with the giant dunce cap on their corrupted craniums.  I’d bet any of them would run out crying and heaving within minutes.  Idiots!

Imagine your hair with a hint of green coloring, sticky tar coating your once luscious locks.  Take a deep breath and then choke on it.  Tears run down your cheek speckled with the soot that burns your eyes.   Your tummy aches because your insides are dissolving.  “That’s alright, now,” says the corporate chief wearing the gas mask.  He walks on by and you turn around and stare at the hole in the back of his head with a murky sauce dripping onto his broad shoulders.   You shake your head, “Damn, I miss the EPA.”   

Thanks: publicdomainpictures.net

Natural Man - Leading by Example

Upper Marlboro, Maryland.  Grandmaster Collins S. Johnson, with over 40 years in the martial arts, is a world certified black belt in Korean, Tang Soo Do, Tae Kwon Do, Okinawan Weapons, Forms and Self Defense and founded the Johnson Martial Arts Center in 1980.  Grandmaster Johnson was inducted into the U.S.A. Martial Arts Hall of Fame and Grandmaster Y. K. Kim's Martial Art World Hall of Fame. 

Grandmaster Johnson enjoys optimal health; fine physical condition; and displays strength, flexibility and agility on a daily basis, leading his family, peers and clients by example.  I am pleased to share his knowledge and wisdom.

Grandmaster Johnson, you are always on the go with your work, family and support in the community.  How do you manage to maintain your health and fitness level with your schedule?

Close adherence to naturopathic intake and the latest scientific information for enhancing the physiological, emotional and mental.  I take 15 or 20 minute naps at least once within a 24-hour period and sleep at night about 6 to 7 hours.  I hardly sleep in, even when I could.  I get up at 6:30 am and the naps do it for me.  I have people training all day and night, so those naps make a difference for me.

How have you helped clients with conditions caused by diet and lack of activity?

I bring them the most up to date scientific information primarily on the naturopathic side, because I try to stay away from the pharmaceuticals as much as I can.  Also, a variety of choices for physical activity such as laps swimming for an hour; biking; weight training and any other aerobic type of activity that they can be involved in, that they like.  I steer them away from all sugars, starches, processed foods and more towards fruits, vegetables and some meats.

Where does your family shop for food?  What is your favorite food or dish?  How often do you indulge?  We shop at BJs, Giant, Whole Foods, and Mom’s Organic Market.  Mostly vegetables and fruits of all kinds; oranges, strawberries, and blueberries.  We rotate around those religiously.  We eat the berries, grapes, bananas, pears, and apples.  I love cantaloupe, honeydew and watermelon; those are my top choices.  We also buy all the green vegetables and carrots.  My favorites:  salmon is number one.  I really like scrambled eggs and the fish category:  perch, scrod, and tilapia.  I used to like tuna fish, but with all the mercury, not much anymore.  For meat, pretty much ground turkey and turkey meat products because it is light on the system.  I eat fish at least three times a week, salmon twice.

What is your frustration level with lack of fitness in our community?  What words of encouragement can you offer?  The obvious is ignoring the information that is so publicized regarding negative intake.  People are still rolling up to things that are harmful.  It is the quality of life.  If you could recondition people on the intake, you could get results sooner and they would probably be a lot happier.  The doctors might not be so happy, but it would be so much better than kids weighing 190 pounds at 10 years old.  I have never seen so many morbidly obese people in my life than recently.

For me, the key is to start slowly; every week have only one day to indulge and the rest of the week, cut back on the negative intake: processed foods and sugar.  No one needs to eat anything with high fructose corn syrup and dehydrogenated oils.  Diabetes is so prevalent because of 150 pounds of sugar yearly intake versus 30 pounds years ago.  Also, people gulping food instead of chewing it; chomp, chomp, chomp, gulp.  We need to masticate the food in order to keep our organs from working so hard in digestion.  We are overworking the pancreas.  Also, the quantity, we eat too much.

Age is a number and not an excuse.  You have trained clients from ages 2 to deep in the 70’s.  What has been your greatest age range challenge and why?

I would have to say those in the 40-50 age bracket because they are so set in what they want to do.  They find it difficult to change their ways relative to intake.  They want the results, but don’t want to change. 

What are some of the things you choose not do in order to maintain vitality? 

I don’t smoke or drink alcohol, hard liquor or beer, but will have a glass of red wine on occasion a few times a week, because it has so much more benefit for the body.  No drugs.  I don’t hang out in clubs and if out, I’m home by twelve on special occasions.  I could never get into late night hanging out.  I prefer to be quiet at home relaxing and trying to analyze the previous days or weeks and figure out how things could be better the next few days or weeks.

Black Organic is grateful for your efforts to enhance health education and the well-being of the public.  Thank you, Sir. 

You can find Grandmaster Johnson at:

http://johnsonmartialartsfitness.com/

The Uncluttered Life

Any items that you do not value and things that do not fit are no longer relevant.  They may be appropriate for someone else.  We are consumers, stockpilers, collectors and hoarders.   Many of us hold on to stuff for little reason or absolute necessity.  We have filled closets, cupboards, garages and sheds.  We hold on to things for years without setting eyeball on them, yet refuse to listen to the call to spring clean.  We should use our precious space for required or essential items.

If it doesn’t fit, you need to quit. If it has a lump… dump.  If it makes you pout, throw it out.  If it makes you itch, you have to ditch.  If it has a spot, it should be dropped.  If it has a tear, don’t repair; just get it out of your lair. 

Green living is re-using, reducing and refusing waste.  Let someone else re-use your stuff; reduce the amount of stuff you bring into your home; and refuse to purchase stuff that not needed.   If you have an item that you have not seen or used in the past six months, apparently, you don’t need it. 

Start your journey to cut chaos in your home.  Spend time slashing stuff now and save time with less loads of laundry; dishes; and general cleaning in the near future.  You may be surprised that you have less stress; more moments to read a book, newspaper, this blog or other favorite pursuits; and extra money in your accounts.

Over the last few months, I got rid of about 40% of my stuff; 20% of the children’s things; and my husband is working on his items.  I re-used boxes and filled them with items in all the desk or table drawers; got rid of just about all the plastic cups and containers and replaced them with the glass items that were stored in boxes in the basement; donated clothes, shoes and display stuff; took some framed items to work to decorate my office; and I’m now going through all the boxes of collected paper and junk drawer stuff for disposal, donation or organization.  There is no rush to complete the task since it is tough and time consuming.

I have no regrets and I find it much easier to get dressed in the morning and clean up the kitchen.  We are only shopping for food and we do not stockpile.  We find that we have less leftovers and tossed food and meals are a little more creative.  I feel a whole lot better about the house and we stepped back from consumerism.  Green is good.

Thanks: publicdomainpictures.net