David Suzuki

I'm at the library, and have just picked up David Suzuki's Green Guide (by David Suzuki & David R. Boyd, published 2008).  How could I not know this book existed?


I think David Suzuki is the best.  Although I'm young enough to have grown up with cable, I didn't because I lived out of the service area.  Therefore, I was lucky to get three channels growing up, and The Nature of Things with David Suzuki was something that always came in clearly.


Recently, he's been showing up on green commercials, telling Canadians to get hip with things like clotheslines, fluorescent bulbs, and one very cute one of a guy who's been infested with penguins because he's kept his fridge door open too long.


Suzuki & Boyd's book dedication:

"This book is dedicated to every person worried about the Earth worried about the Earth who has ever wondered 'What can I do?'"

 Can't wait to get home and tear into this...will offer highlights when done.


P.S.  The Nature of Things will be looking at climate change at 7pm (Eastern) on Saturday, June 20.  Check with your local listings to see who's carrying it in your area.

Girls Only Club - Pros and Cons of a Diva Cup

Not JUST for the girls...technically this post could also be for the boys who think they might like to convince their girls to use a menstrual cup.  I don't recommend recommending ANYTHING to do with menstruation to ANY woman though.  That is, if you're a guy.  I'm not, and I'm speaking from experience, so I'll have my say.

Why are we talking about this?
First of all, let's just state why this is even on a green blog to begin with.  Hugely on the "Pros" side of the argument, menstrual cups are reusable, taking years to end up in a land fill.  Take a look at it this way:  The average cycle is seven days.  Assume that you're using a combination of at least two tampons and two pads per day, that's 4 x 7 = 28 things to end up in a landfill.  Now multiply that by all the women on your block.  Or all the women you know.  Or hey, all the women in Canada.  Yikes. 

Next, take a look at a menstrual cup.

The instructions say that they should be replaced every twelve months, but I have a feeling that's got something to do with Health Canada requirements, because in many places on the internet you can read that they're good up to TEN YEARS.  Yep, 10 years.  And even if you do change it every 12 months, you've saved the planet from at LEAST 336 items in the landfill, assuming our two tampons, two pads estimate.  Playtex, with their plastic applicators, can bite me. 

Speaking of plastic, the Diva Cup in particular, isn't.  It's silicone, which makes it hypoallergenic.  It also makes it comfortable to wear, as the silicone softens with body heat as you wear it, making it contour to your shape.

Let's do this in a simple way:


PROS 

• Reusable, for a long, long time.
• Since they are not up near the cervix like tampons, no risk of toxic shock syndrome.
• Comfort like a tampon.
• Easy to care for.
• NO LEAKS.  This one is huge with me, so I'll say it again:  NO LEAKS.
• Can be worn up to 12 hours.  After twelve hours, remove, dump, rinse, and repeat.
  
• Cheaper in the long run.
• Now easier to find locally, which saves on shipping.  (Store Finder)
• Husband is much happier taking that garbage out at that time of the month.
  

CONS

• A little tricky to get the hang of at first.
• Initial expense might be prohibitive for some.  (Approx. four months budget in one shot.)

That's it.  All the cons I can think of.  Give me time, and I might come up with some more pros.

In case you hadn't noticed, I didn't go into a lot of detail about how the Diva Cup works or anything.  For that, I suggest you head over to their website, where they have a fantastic FAQ that will answer all of your questions from "Ew..isn't that..." to "How do I...?"


I do hope this starts to catch on.  Take some time and think about it, and remember that the small steps we take have a big impact.  In this case, what we teach our daughters today can make for a better world for their own children.

Bug Spray - How I Miss Thee

Oh, how green I am - until I see a bug. The sight of a creepy crawly just about drives me to dig around in the back of my cabinets in search of the Raid that I know is still kicking around back there.

Raid, for Roaches, no less. I've seen cockroaches in Kingston only twice, and one of those places ISN'T my current residence. But hey, if it'll kill a cockroach, it'll kill anything. That's my theory.

Except that now I'm not supposed to use chemicals. I'm trying to be as green as I can and teach my children well...

So, today when I was sitting on the deck, watching the kids play, I happened to catch some movement out of the corner of my eye. Right there, right at eye level, was a swarm of baby red spiders, looking like they had just been newly hatched - on my barbeque.

UGH.

Breathe deeply.

(oh shit, oh shit, eeeeew)

Leap from the deck, and breathe again.

Think about the Raid, and then give self a mental slap on wrist.

Call the kids over to have a look while running inside to get the spray bottle with dish soap and water.

Squirt the hell out of the little bastards, while explaining to the kids that, "Yes, the spiders are outside, and that means they should be allowed to live...but they are on OUR DECK, which is an extension of our house. Therefore it's okay to kill them, unless one of you would like to pick them off. No takers?"

(squirt, squirt)

You heard it here. Dish soap kills bugs, apparently by suffocation. (Here's to hoping the karma has a loophole for bugs and phobias.) A spray bottle filled mostly with water and a couple good squirts of dish soap will do the trick. If it's an adjustable one, that's better - use the spray for little creepies and the stream for bigger ones.

No guarantee this will work on cockroaches. We don't have them around here, but just in case, I'm keeping my bottle of raid at the back of the cabinet. (Sh.)

No 'Poo? No Shit! - How Green is Your Hygiene? Pt. 1

Why: Cut down on chemicals poured down the drain; water usage; plastic bottle consumption; have happier hair.

My Hair: Curly, moderately thick, frizzy and a bit dry, bad attitude all its own and occasionally eats small items.

Regular Care: Shampoo every other day, brush out tangles with conditioner in shower, squish to dry. Between wash days, straighten or tie up in pony tail.

Products: Shampoo, Conditioner, multiple anti-frizz products, hair spray, curl squishers, root lifter.

Tools: Plastic brush with knobby bristles, blow dryer (occasionally) and tourmaline straightener.

OK, so I've been doing the no 'poo thing for about 3 weeks now. When I first read about it, a paste of baking soda seemed the way to go. I would wet my hair, mix up about four tablespoons of baking soda with some very hot water and rub that sludge into my hair. Then I would wrap it in a towel and let it sit for about half an hour before stepping into the shower, rinsing it out (which I didn't find difficult, but some do) and then rinsing it with apple cider vinegar.

Let it be said: Apple Cider Vinegar smells VILE. Especially when poured over one's head.

This is what I did twice a week for the first two weeks. My hair appeared to be pretty greasy - not common for my head. And let's not forget that although it's only twice a week, wetting one's head over the kitchen sink, splattering baking soda all over the place, and then walking around with a towel for half an hour is a pain in the ass. I have two kids, two online businesses, and a home daycare. Complications are NOT what I need.

Here's what my hair looked like two days ago:

Not too too bad, until you look at the backside, which pretty much looks like a rat's nest:

Remember, brushing my hair has been a conditioner only type of deal, and old habits die hard. I've been brushing it in the shower with the apple cider vinegar, and not straightening it at all...I'm totally going to end up with a big ol' frizz head if I touch it with a brush at all, right?

The other day I read about going without cleaning agents altogether. Instead, a detangling comb (or fingers, for that matter) and a dense boar bristle brush (vegans can go use synthetic) are apparently all you need.

A bit of the science of our heads. I'm just dabbling here, nothing huge...

Mammals (in this case, you and me) produce an oily substance called sebum from their skin. Sebum makes us waterproof. It keeps our skin and hair from drying out, as well as keeping us from getting TOO wet and shriveling up like a prune.

Regular shampooing and conditioning (even every other day, or once a week!) strips the hair and scalp of sebum, which freaks out the scalp and makes it produce MORE sebum. Vicious circle, the more the wash, the more you produce and get greasier hair between washings.

On the other hand, if the sebum that you produce is never removed, it builds up, gets blocked, and can eventually lead to hair loss.

Ai yi yi...so what's a mammal to do? Let's get back to the boar bristle brush. These brushes, with their dense, natural fibre bristles, do a number of things for us.

First, when brushed along the length of the hair, this brush will remove dust and dirt particles.

Next, when used to massage the scalp, and brushed from the scalp to the ends, it helps to spread the sebum along the hair length, sealing it.

Finally, boar bristle brushes smooth down the hair cuticles, giving it a glossy finish, naturally. These are the brushes used by ballerinas to give them a sleek bun before performances.

Oh...I musn't forget to mention that boar brushes are NOT meant for detangling...detanglers are. A boar brush is too dense to detangle, and will do far more damage than good if used that way.

One last thing about these brushes: They're not cheap. Expect to pay just under $20 for the very cheapest in your local drugstore. Going anywhere fancier is sure to double that, easy.

Give me a week or two with this, and I'll do an update. For now, know that shampoo is not the way to go, and there is sure to be a different "No 'Poo" routine for each hair type, not to mention lifestyle!

How Green is Your Hygiene? - Intro

Hands up if your bathroom looks more like a chemist's lab than a place to remove the grime and dirt of your days. My hand is up, but I'm working on it. It has finally dawned on me that I may well be walking out of the bathroom with more shit in my hair and skin than when I walked in. And if it's doing that to ME...what's it doing to our water?

Time to take a closer look...

But forget all the science. I don't have the time or the inclination to figure out what all those chemicals are in the stuff I use, and which of them are the worst. So here's how this is going to work:

No chemicals. Easy peasy...but what is a chemical? For the purposes of this experiment, we will define a chemical as:

1. anything I don't recognize; or
   
2. anything I can't pronounce on the first try.

Good! The ground rules are laid...we'll start with hair in Pt. 1 of How Green is Your Hygiene?

Vermicomposting Notes

I've got my worms. Woo hoo! They were hand-delivered on Easter Sunday...and they're so much fun!

Let's start with a definition, for those who are new to this concept.

Vermi refers to worms. Composting is the decomposition of organic materials into a fertilizer-rich material. Ordinarily, composting is a thermal process, in which the materials decompose through heat.

In vermicomposting, worms do the decomposing. They eat, they poop, and oh, how green your grass grows.

Types of Worms

The very best type of worm to use is the red wriggler worm. These little guys will eat half of their weight in food scraps per day. Holy crap!

The worst kind of worm to use would be the big fat ones in your backyard. The don't decompose things, they only eat things that are ALREADY decomposed. So you'd have to wait a while for them to start eating, and things would definitely smell.

Red wrigglers is the common name for the good ones, and doing a search for that will bring you tons of results.

Where to Find

Where do you find these guys? Online, mostly, from what I can tell. I've only found one place nearby to me that has them, and they're an hour away (fyi, that would be The Worm Factory in Westport, Ontario). They do accept orders online (Ontario folks only) and by phone (for all other folks). I'm guessing that sending worms across borders might be a bit of a problem though - just google it, in your area.

Most places seem to charge about the same amount for them: $25-ish for 1/2 pound, $45-ish for a full pound.

Housing

Worms need a home. Worm homes need to be well ventilated so the composting process doesn't turn to rot (aeration is the key word here) and begin to smell. Worm homes also need to be dark because the little guys don't like light. Clear b oxes are not ideal. For singles and couples, recycling a couple of buckets from Tim Hortons will do a good job of housing your worms and taking care of your scraps. For a larger family that produces more scraps, a large, shallow storage bin with a lid will work great.

Ventilation

Whichever you choose, you will need to ventilate. In the picture here, you can see that I went nuts with a drill and put a million holes in the top of a Rubbermaid bin. (I started out with a nail and a hammer, and got about 15 holes done before my fingers hurt and I was just annoyed. The drill was WAY more fun.)

The holes that my drill made (I think I was using my husband's second smallest drill bit) seemed good for airflow (not too small) but too big to keep the worms contained, should they decide to make a run for it. So I stopped off at Canadian Tire and bought a roll of screening for doors and windows. I cut a piece slightly larger than the area where the holes were drilled, and used sandpaper to roughen the plastic around the holes. I then smeared some carpenter's glue (because that's what we had in the junk drawer) around on the rough parts and pressed the screen into it. I left it to dry in the sun for a day, after which the smell from the glue was mostly gone.

So far, so good, although we've only had the worms for three days now. At this point, I do have a concern that I have some long, skinny bugs roaming around in there, and I haven't completely decided what they are or what to do about them. Seems that adding more dry bedding (shredded newspaper, dry leaves, etc) and sprinkling eggshells or calcium carbonate (to reduce the acidity of the environment) is often the answer to a lot of problems.

Anyway, I'll keep things updated here on Life with Worms. :) My kids are totally pleased about it though, and my neice even seems to be coming around. My husband doesn't care so long as he doesn't have to have anything to do with it.

Waiting for the Worms

The vermicomposting seminar was GREAT. Not as many people turned out for it as I'd thought would (omg...I'm a GEEK...) but that's okay because everyone had a better view of the little red wrigglers.

Nathan and Mark did a fantastic job of explaining how things work, things to experiment with, and what definitely to NOT do. Again, once I'm a little better prepped, I will also offer a link to their website. These guys deserve the very best in their business venture. :)

Yesterday I ordered worms. Raise your hand if you thought you could receive worms in the mail? (My hand is NOT up.) You can...and I will. Hopefully they'll be here tomorrow, and aren't chilly right now. It snowed last night, so I'm a little concerned for their well-being.

I'll be sure to include a couple of good photos of my new little friends, and their house, once they arrive.

Date for my Birthday

Oh boy, oh boy. Tomorrow is my birthday. I'm going to a vermicomposting seminar for my birthday. Oh boy.

Vermicomposting is composting with the help of worms.

Actually, I AM really excited about it, although some of my friends and family think I'm a little strange. When my niece heard that I *may* keep worms on the kitchen counter, she almost swallowed her tongue. But I'm sure she'll get used to it.

I have been wanting to do a post on vermicomposting for a while now, and last year sent out a couple of emails to local companies that offer vermicomposting "starter kits" as well as special buckets, bedding, information, and most importantly, WORMS.

Never heard back from either of them. I've wondered if it had anything to do with the last question I apologized for, yet went ahead and asked anyway..."Is it necessary to actually TOUCH the worms?"

C'mon. Green living for real people. I'm a real girl. I would prefer not to touch worms if possible. Thank god it's not spider composting...I would just hit Walmart for a case of aerosol hairspray and kiss the environment goodbye.

Anyway...will get back with more on vermicomposting after tomorrow. Gee...wonder if they'll be handing out free samples at the door?

Cascades Paper Products Review

A loooooong time ago, I said (Evil Tissues) that I would hunt down Cascades brand of bathroom tissue and paper towels and let you good people know how it stands up to the other, non-recycled-killing-our-ancient-forests types of paper (read: Kleenex, Bounty, Scot Towels, Charmin, etc, etc). Here's my review.

I can't tell the difference between Cascades 100% recycled papers and the evil stuff I used to use. The toilet paper is not rought, the paper towels are absorbent and come in select-a-size.

To not notice a difference is pretty much the point, isn't it? I did not pour some blue liquids on my counter and compare the absorbency of Cascades with the "other" brand...nothing nearly so anal. I simply bought them and tried them, and since no one noticed, I've continued to use them.

This is the brand I hunted, found, tried, and like. I'm sticking with Cascades. At the time that I was looking for them, there weren't many choices, or many places to find them, but choices abound now, and here's where to make your selection:

Greenpeace Shopper's Guide to Ancient Forest Friendly Tissue

Follow the link above, and you'll be taken to the Greenpeace Shopper's Guide. Choose your paper type (toilet paper, paper towels, tissue paper or napkins) and you'll be given a list of brands which are either green (go ahead, use these), yellow (try not to use these), or red (better off getting some leaves to do the job with).

Cascades are also available in a lot more places than when I first went looking for them, and you can find where to get them here:

Where to find Cascades