Green Spot

And there is no end in sight.

Before testifying before a U.S. Congress oversight committee recently, Directors of British Petroleum (BP) agreed to a $20 Billion dollar fund in which cleanup costs would be pulled. Many are skeptical that this will cover everything such as the fishing and travel industry lifestyles lost, and lessons learned from many older spills such as the infamous Exxon Valdez spill took over a decade to clean.

Solutions such as a top kill method, and capping have not worked, and they are currently drilling relief wells which is:

…intercepting the well bore deep beneath the surface, but above the oil reservoir. Then they pump heavy drilling fluid (mud) into the well bore very quickly at high pressure. Hopefully, the heavy fluid will overcome the flow of oil as it fills the well bore. Eventually, the weight of the mud in the well will exert enough downward force to stop oil from coming up.

Sites have been developed to gather signatures in the name of seizing all assets of BP. There are live camera feeds available online of the “spill” as it occurs, and recent estimates have placed the unchecked flow at a minimum of 35,000 barrels per day flowing towards the Gulf Coast of America. The number could be low, and double the amount could be erupting in to our oceans according to U.S. Geological Directors and Coast Guard Officials.

Although the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the U.S. made the skies above the Gulf a No-Fly Zone (for safety reasons), photos of the spill from above are abundantly nightmarish.

Imagine if this was an occurrence in your own home, your neighborhood, your city, your county - In fact, you can see what the spill looks like over your home through this site ifitwasmyhome.com. It uses your IP address, the Google Maps API, and through current imaging, and the widespread contamination over a 60 day period - Superimposes a digital rendering of the spill over anywhere in the world. Most major cities such as Los Angeles, New York City or London are not only lost, but so are the hundreds of miles surrounding them.

Animals, environments, resources, and people’s lives have been taken by this disaster. Stay informed and aware of this crisis so that in the future we can be hopefully be better prepared and knowledgeable to possibly avoid deep drilling altogether.

No Surfing Allowed.

At the end of this month, it may become legal in California for farmers and industrial growers to use a highly toxic pesticide called Methyl Iodide. In fact,

“It is actually used in the laboratory to induce cancer cells.“

In the year 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the United States allowed this particularly toxic chemical to be used in soil sterilization. It would be buried in soil in preparation of Strawberry planting to ward off micro bacteria and soil-borne fungi. Although it is used sparingly in a handful of states, lab tests have shown it is a strong carcinogen that causes Thyroid diseases and Neurological disorders.

Seems like anyone in the market for Strawberries should start buying organic.

Other pesticides, including the supposedly harmless Diatomaceous, have been in use for years without as much controversy as Methyl Iodide. On a side note, recently, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) - made infamous by the Julia Roberts movie “Erin Brockavich” - plans to use an aquatic insect pesticide called Silver Iodide, to ’seed clouds’ in order to bring about rain in Northern California - Mainly to help with hydroelectric projects. This is another oddity in the world of pesticides, as Cloud Seeding has never been fully effective in modifying weather, and the region in which they plan on dropping this pesticide is near the head of major water basins near Sacramento, California.

It seems that in our quest to grow the ideal food in any conditions and in large quantities, our optimization process has stepped over the boundaries of common sense. If official regulations fail to maintain, then we must take responsibility for our bodies and health, and in this case, buy organic and keep growing simple.

Eat Strawberries Fresh, Wash Them Well - but buy organic!

Near Death Valley, in Nevada, an oasis bubbling up from miles below the Earth’s surface has been found flowing through a small area of the desert. Fault movement and cracks in the Earth’s surface due to erosion, earthquakes and more have given way to a natural water vein that pumps out 10,000 gallons per minute!

Many pundits believe that, for instance - Oil as a fossil fuel extracted from the Earth, has peaked (supposedly as far back as the early 1980’s), and the amount that is available will only become more scarce as time goes on. Recent and very local to California (LA DWP in fact) water conservation regulations have gone in to effect to ensure water does not reach the same point.

This new discovery in Ash Meadows, Nevada, is a bountiful eruption and has spawned new species of fish and plant life too. According to research and testing, the water has been preserved nearly a mile below the surface for over 15,000 years and has taken just as long to try and crack through the surface and flow through.

The United States Government had unfortunately set off over 800 Nuclear Bombs in areas that may come in contact with the underground fissure of the oasis, and may indeed one day contaminate the water. For now, we should rejoice and take advantage of a flowing pool of wonder in a dry desert in need of life.

Ash Meadows, Nevada - The area in which a new oasis was found!

A UK government study has found that the so-called “degradable” (note that it is spelled and called ‘degradable’, not ‘biodegradable’) plastic bags that market-giant Tesco has been handing out and toting as eco-friendly are NOT what they seem. Although it is a small PR snafu for a major retailer, they still manage to offer reusable bags for customers and post great profits which they share with their employees.

And then there’s water bottles - which represents an odd privatization of fresh water that the documentary ‘Flow‘ discusses, is easily recyclable, but many still struggle to maintain recycling as a habit. We here at Simply Green Solutions always recommend filling a reusable canteen or two each day from your faucet, as it reduces waste that can sometimes end up in the middle of the ocean.

There’s interesting news for us locally, here in California. Due to recent discussions among lawmakers:

“Californians would no longer get plastic bags at supermarket check-out stands…”

Single use plastic bags would be banned in California, and the over 500 flimsy bags that are used PER PERSON in this state would be a thing of the past. Bring a reusable bag or pay 5¢ for a post-consumer paper bag at the market, but know that we will all be reducing waste that harms our environment. Plastic does not biodegrade as Tesco had claimed, rather, it breaks down in to smaller pieces and makes its way in to our bodies, air, water, ground and becomes harmful to our world.

No longer will our world be degraded by plastic, as this is one step of many that is taken to heal, to help and to reduce the harm done and make the planet a greener place to live.

California plans to reduce plastic waste.

This Sunday, May 16th, 2010, New Orleans radio station WWOZ, local buisness and political leaders, community outreach and social leaders as well as musicians Lenny Kravitz, Mos Def, John Legend and more, will descend upon the Mississippi River near the French Quarter of New Orleans and perform a benefit concert called Gulf Aid. Proceeds will be going towards cleanup efforts and families affected by the recent oil rig spill.

A few weeks ago, on April 20th, 2010, an oil rig operated by global conglomerate Transocean, but owned by British Petroleum (BP), had a malfunction that led to a large explosion. The malfunction may be due to faulty well-casing manufactured by Halliburton, and the three companies blame each other to prevent financial liability. Eleven people died at the scene and as the rig was badly damaged, thousands upon thousands of gallons of oil began to spew in to the Gulf of Mexico, killing and threatening wildlife, ridding much-needed tourism to the area, putting tens of thousands of fish and seafood workers out of jobs, and harming our precious ocean.

That area is in dire need of help, and although BP and our coast guard as well as other U.S. Government agencies have taken to task working through the night to cap the oily fissure in our Earth, the flowing well 80 miles off the coast of Louisiana continues to bleed black gold.

New Orleans itself is a historic and vibrant city that was recently (2005) ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, and as part of the Mississippi Gulf Coast, its beaches and fishing industry will be greatly affected by the recent BP Oil Rig catastrophe. If you can’t make it to the concert, you can make a donation at the quick website they’ve set up today here, or you may write a tax-deductible donation to: Gulf Relief Foundation, a 501 C3 non-profit corporation, located at P.O. Box 6917, Metairie, LA 70009.

The video below was taken this week (May, 2010) by a local to the Gulf Coast pilot and the Institute for Southern Studies.

Time to put a bee in your bonnet, and get up in your beesness.

If the Honey Bee goes extinct, it will sting the world. Honey, a natural food additive and healthy alternative to sweeteners and blood pressure medications, could see a major price increase. The Crops, flowers and eco-systems are threatened by a decrease in honey bees, which as of the last 5 years is deemed Colony Collapse Disorder. A new report states that a little over 30% fewer honey bees made it through this past winter. For the last four years, colonies have been dying off at an alarming rate. Speculation over whether pesticides, bad weather, lack of food, mobile communication towers, parasites, a specific bee disease, or bad breeding is still up in the air as the culprit to this problem, but nonetheless, it persists.

We can all help to find a simply green solution for the Honey Bee.

Many eco-friendly and progressive folks, especially city-dwellers, have taken up bee keeping to help the cause, and make some extra cash selling Honey (a natural health and energy supplement). A normal 5-story (in bee terms) bee hive can hold up to 20,000 bees and yield 20 pounds of honey. Not to mention help to pollinate fruits, flowers and vegetables in your garden. Fragrant flowers or Native Wildflowers such as Marigolds, Burdock and Rose of Sharon are used in bedding and root support to attract and grow the Honey Bee population, and for at-home gardeners, can be easy to maintain too.

BUT - If bee keeping or a green thumb isn’t part of your hand, there are other ways to help the cause. Derma-logical and body care specialist Gilchrist and Soames from England, have a specialty line of soaps and lotions called Bee Kind®. Much of the proceeds go to University of California at Davis Entomology Department’s Honey Bee Research Program. You can even create a space for bees (Mason Bees, the non-stinging kind due to their solitary lifestyle - no queen to protect) in a house that attracts these pollinators to your garden. In fact, according to this article, it seems that Mason Bees can help with crops, fruits, vegetables and flowers more so than the Honey Bee - which could help with the problem:

“An Orchard Mason Bee’s pollination success rate is 93%-99% as opposed to the 3% pollination success rate of honeybees. As a result, it takes fewer Orchard Mason Bees to fully pollinate an area than it takes honeybees to pollinate the same area.“

A lot is going on in the world and to most, this small buzzing insect is an infinitesimal nuisance and not as important as other plights in our daily lives, but for a moment, and maybe more, know that there are simple steps we can all take to help get the bee colony population going again and one day hopefully find a solution.

Honey Bees need your help.

To hear a citizen of Iceland pronounce the name of the now infamous volcano, click here. It means “Island Mountain Glacier” and is basically three Icelandic words put together. Not only has it grounded thousands of planes near the U.K. due to its plumes of smoke, but it has kept the entire island nation of Iceland itself amused by watching the rest of the world try and pronounce its name (There’s even a song by an Icelander in the video below to help).

As the volcano erupted, lava shot up from three miles below the Earth, and created enough ash to rise 3 miles above the Earth, and dirty up the sky for hundreds of miles around. The ash, called Tephra, is made of a few materials and volcanic glass is one of them. There is a slight chance it could change atmospheric temperature, but that remains to be seen. What HAS been seen are red sunsets across Europe, lightning spewing forth due to the sand-sized ash, and tons of angry travelers at the mercy of Eyjafjallajökull.

Volcanic ash can be used as a great skin exfoliate, but the recent eruption created a bit of air pollution. The CO2 emissions from the volcano is equivalent to the annual CO2 emissions from 48,700 cars. Let’s hope the volcano subsides soon, as one of its prior eruptions smoked for a decade AND this is one of Iceland’s smaller volcanos. Not only is it hard to pronounce, but its kind of an ash hole.

NASA Satellite Image of the erupting volcano's smoke

We’re all interested mostly in what matters to us. What does matter to us? We do. You matter to yourself. You, your life, and your inner circle of family, pets and friends are the most important things in your life. Care about the things that matter by ensuring you are knowledgeable about what you put in your body.

Let’s talk about food. In fact, present day food manufacturing isn’t exactly a sustainable solution for maintaining health. Tomorrow (April 21, 2010) on PBS, you can watch “Food Inc.”, the renowned documentary of food’s modern travesties. “Food Inc.” takes a hard look at genetically-modified foods, organic farming, big industry food manufacturing and is similar in tone to famous health food documentary titles like The Future of Food, Super Size Me, and the little known King Corn (which spends time looking at High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) - which itsef has been linked by many studies to increase body fat more so than most other food additives.

Nutritional experts such as Eric Schlosser, Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin, and experienced farmers have a lot of good advice for people trying to maintain good health, good taste, and support good food in an imperfect society built to meet demand for bigger food made faster and cheaper - there are solutions and ways around factory-farmed food, and paths towards excellent health:

• drink decaffeinated green tea instead of coffee
• if you gotta drink wine, try for a wine without sulfites or a winery that is certified organic
• eat only whole grains that have not been bleached or stripped of their nutrients
• start your day with fruits for fiber and natural energy
• say “no” to natural sweeteners that contain aspartame (its been known to create formaldahyde in the body and there have been cases where arsenic was found in manufactured sweeteners) and choose natural stevia or agave nectar instead
• eat more wild caught fish, it has essential oils for the body and will ensure you eat less meat (half of all antibiotics sold in the USA are given to factory farmed animals)
• try and eat organic when possible, as a lot of non-organic meats, dairy, and eggs can contain pesticides
• studies have shown that diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and soy are less prone to cancer and heart disease

Take some time to think about the food you eat, watch “Food Inc.” and eat smarter for your very own simply green solution.

(All information derived from Demeter Certified Organics, MikSucks.com, GoVeg.com, Organic Consumer Assoc., California Cert. Organic Farmers, WholeFoodsMarket.com, Marin Organic and the movies mentioned above)

Shop Smart, Local and Organic at a Farmer's Market

Very recently, the Environmental Protection Agency here in the U.S. had begun investigating Bisphenol A (BPA) and its use in many of the products we use as agents of eating, drinking and basic receptacle use such as baby bottles, plastic water bottles and more. The sister agency in Britain, has no such investigation underway, but may have to soon.

As this gets more coverage in the media, citizens may opt to start buying their goods frozen, freeze dried, or items such as soups from a box or paper carton. The canned goods it seems, leech BPA in to the food. They should start calling them “canned bads“. Over 40% of canned goods in Britain are lined with BPA to protect from food/metal corrosion, which makes sense, but now that new research is available, the plastics industry that distributes to food manufacturers, may need to rethink its strategy.

BPA has been linked to cancer, brain development stunting and other very serious maladies. The article linked above (‘The Independent’ from the UK) goes on to quote the large canned-food giant Heinz as saying:

“Although UK and European food authorities have stated that minute levels of BPA in can coatings are safe, Heinz remains committed to moving to alternatives [and] continues to advance research into alternative coatings in response to consumer opinion but safety remains our first priority before making any changes.”

Organizations that help to fight Breast Cancer have called for cans and tin drinks to be labeled if they do indeed contain BPA, but many large companies such as Tesco and Sainsbury’s in the UK maintain that the levels of BPA in plastic water bottles, tins and cans are safe. According to the article, they base their claims on research that is over a decade old.

Take our advice, fill a reusable canteen with tap water and buy your veggies or similar items that are typically canned, fresh, as often as you can. Treat your body like we treat the world, with a good and simply green solution.

Aluminum/Tin Cans Spew Forth BPA

With 1.32 Billion people and counting, its easy to understand why China would invest more than most countries combined on renewable energy technologies. Most of its population lives in cities, which generate tons of carbon waste through use of fossil-fuel types of energy. With the Beijing Olympic games no more than a couple of years behind us, most folks in the know saw the drastic measures China had to take to stem pollution before the world would look on to its performances. Part of those efforts included the ban of all vehicles from the area prior to the Olympics.

Due to the world economic crisis though, many manufacturers have lost millions due to weakened export revenues and have cut corners in deadly ways. This video, albeit inducing propaganda-esque techniques, displays some of the issues that China faces. It’s obvious factory culture provides a long, tough road for Chinese lawmakers, but there is hope.

By the year 2020, China’s investment of over $30 Billion (USD) in to clean energy will begin to pay off, as 15% of its total energy use will come from sources such as wind and more. Back in September 2009, Hu Jintao, the present leader of the People’s Republic of China, induced the notion of self-accountability and ensured that China would lead the way towards a greener future. Although it may take another century to get there, by morphing the great nation of China in to a sustainable society by utilizing solar, sea, wind and other reusable resources, other great nations will follow suit, and the world will then be a better and cleaner place to live.

China's Environment will be Sustained