Archive for August, 2008
August 21st, 2008 -- Posted in Environment |
Despite the fact that there are regulations in place for our public drinking water treatment systems, the water is not safe to drink. The Environmental Protection Agency knows this, as they are the ones that oversee the treatment centers. The EPA has made efforts to educate people about the hazards that they face when drinking tap water, and of the options that they have.
You probably have an understanding of what your options are already. You can boil your water in order to clean it, you can buy bottled water, or you can invest in a drinking water purification system. The whole point is that no matter which option you choose, you’ve got to do something to avoid falling victim to the toxins in your tap water.
The public drinking water treatment systems are very limited in their ability to provide us with clean drinking water. The equipment that they use simply isn’t efficient in order to complete the task that is asked of it.
Even though chlorine disinfection has done a great deal of good in ridding us of the threat of most of the serious waterborne diseases, there are parasites that still remain despite the chlorine.
These microbes, such as cryptosporidium, do pose a threat to the general public. However, the threat is greater for some than it is for others.
For most of us, these parasites will only cause some intestinal discomfort, but for the very old, the very young, or for those with compromised immune systems they could spell big trouble. These people need to take the precaution of getting a drinking water purification system.
The EPA states that people with health issues such as AIDS, cancer patients that are undergoing chemotherapy and those on transplant medications “may want to take additional precautions” in order to ensure their safety. They won’t publicly commit to the fact that there are serious problems with our drinking water treatment systems, but at least their suggestion is a start.
If you do believe that you “may” want to follow the advice of the EPA, they further suggest that the use of a drinking water purification system that utilizes a sub-micron filter unit in order to trap the cryptosporidium cysts, as well as others, “may” be wise.
However, they do not recommend that you switch over to bottled water, unless you first contact the bottler in order to be clear about the drinking water treatment systems that they use.
If the bottler doesn’t use a drinking water purification system that utilizes sub-micron technology, or will not commit to whether the technology is used or not, then pass on buying that company’s products. Bottled water is not required by the EPA to be any safer than tap water. It is only required to be “as safe,” and that is of no use to you as far as your health is concerned.
There are many problems that the EPA recognizes with regards to the way drinking water treatment systems handle our water, but they will only go so far as to say that we “may” want to protect ourselves. That’s very kind of them to take that measure of responsibility, isn’t it?
Hopefully, you will take on that responsibility for yourself and your family. Investigate further and get the high quality home water purification system that you need and deserve.
August 14th, 2008 -- Posted in Environment |
Want to live off your land? More people are pursuing a lifestyle of self-reliance, depending upon themselves for their food and making a living by homesteading. If you long to get off the office treadmill and onto your own land, here are fifteen crucial steps you should take to pursue your life of freedom:
Get out of debt
As any farmer will tell you, unless you own a corporation with hundreds, if not thousands of acres, you won’t make a fabulous income living off the land. Those farmers who do own hundreds of acres and thousands of dollars worth of equipment (along with the mortgages to prove it) are struggling to get by. The secret is to live simply and downsize. Sell that newer car with those high car payments and buy a used model, preferably with no payments. Stop eating out as much and use that extra money to pay off your loans.
Get some land
You don’t need hundreds of acres, but if you want to live off your land, you will need at least five. You will want enough space for a good sized garden, along with some farm animals. Live in town? Consider selling or renting that house and buying a used manufactured home set on a small acreage instead. Many people do it and live quite comfortably – and debt free.
Learn to grow your own food
Put in a lot of raised beds and grow potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and other vegetables. Learn to preserve your food through canning, drying and freezing, so that you go to your pantry instead of the grocery store, cutting down on cost and time.
Raise chickens
These wonderful birds will supply you with eggs, meat, and even income if you raise enough of them. Fresh chicken eggs are easy to sell. These eggs are delicious, and if they come from chickens who have eaten mostly grass and insects – chickens who live in chicken tractors, for example – they are also far healthier and more valuable than the store-bought brand.
Get your goat
Goats will supply you with milk, meat and cheese. Control their diet – only hay and grains – and your goat’s milk will taste exactly like cow’s milk, only sweeter. Plus, many people are realizing the health benefits of raw goat’s milk, making it a marketable product. Get two or three female goats – or does – along with a billy goat, and you will have enough milk for your family and some extra to sell to cover your cost.
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August 10th, 2008 -- Posted in Environment |
It is nearly impossible these days to open the newspaper, turn on the TV, or listen to the radio without seeing a headline or hearing someone commentary on global warming. Clearly, a lot of the evidence we see in the media today makes a strong point to its existence. Polar ice shelves appear to be receding, ocean levels seem to be rising, and deadly hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes are constantly in the news. At the same time, there is abundant evidence that we are merely experiencing a natural warming trend. In the last two years there have been multiple regional records set for coldest temperatures on record and amount of snow precipitation.
Here in Mendon, Utah, it is near the end of July and there are still several small snow packs visible atop the gorgeous Wellsville Mountains. In my mind, the jury is still out on the possibility that global temperatures are rising due to human industrialization. However, I do strongly believe we as human-beings have an obligation to act responsibly with the earth’s natural resources. And I believe there are many easy ways each of us can do our part.
Recycle. Recycling takes effort. It is without question much easier to just throw whatever we no longer want or need into our garbage can and let the county or city magically make it disappear. Recycling usually involves storing and then hauling the recyclable items to locations that accept whatever it is we wish to recycle. Some are fortunate enough to have recycling programs that are offered at their curbside. In our place of business we have different boxes or bins for paper, cardboard, aluminum, and plastic. Once the pile becomes too large to handle, either I or someone else will bag the items and haul them to our homes or to other collection sites. It does involve effort. Since we are throwing it out anyways, we might as well put it into the hands of other industries that have a need for these materials. We can either do something now or we can wait several hundreds of years for aluminum, glass, and plastic to break-down. Other items that we should consider recycling are printer cartridges, glass, used car oil, and “green” waste.
Conserve electricity. This is a major issue around our home with four boys under the age of eleven running. I believe we all understand that electricity is generated by burning coal, natural gas, or by splitting atoms. More and more electricity is becoming available through renewable resources such as hydro-plants, wind farms, and solar plants. So it goes without saying that the more electricity we use the more of our precious natural resources will be spent in its generation and the more pollutants will be released into our atmosphere. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) use less than a fourth of the electricity needed to power a traditional light bulb. Using Energy Star appliances will also reduce our energy consumption. Purchasing a programmable thermostat makes it easy to heat or cool our homes when we truly need it not when we are usually at work, sleeping, or on vacation. Just think of all the electronic gadgets that you own now that were not even available when you were growing up. These are all plugged in 24/7 and sucking electricity. There are many creative ways we can use less and at the same time lower our bills.
Do not litter. Let’s face it – litter is ugly. I spent two years serving my church as a missionary in northern Germany. Each week we would strive for at least four hours of community service. I spent six months in Bielefeld and we did not always have abundant opportunities to serve in this particular city so we would spend most of our service hours picking up trash around the park, our apartment complex, or the subway station. I would consider Germany and Europe in general as much cleaner than most of the United States; however, we still gathered tons and tons of trash. It beautified our surroundings and we felt good doing it. If each of us threw all of our own trash in the garbage – there would be no litter. This sounds like common sense, but if each of us would only concentrate on ourselves we would see a huge improvement in the natural beauty of our surroundings.
These points are not new. We have all heard them before, but hopefully they will cause you to pause and reflect what you can change in your own world. I don’t know if the polar bear will be extinct in 40 years, or if Miami will be covered in 50 feet of ocean water someday; but I believe there are many things we can do today to respect and live in harmony with this earth we call home.
August 10th, 2008 -- Posted in Uncategorized |
It is nearly impossible these days to open the newspaper, turn on the TV, or listen to the radio without seeing a headline or hearing someone commentary on global warming. Clearly, a lot of the evidence we see in the media today makes a strong point to its existence. Polar ice shelves appear to be receding, ocean levels seem to be rising, and deadly hurricanes, typhoons, and tornadoes are constantly in the news. At the same time, there is abundant evidence that we are merely experiencing a natural warming trend. In the last two years there have been multiple regional records set for coldest temperatures on record and amount of snow precipitation.
Here in Mendon, Utah, it is near the end of July and there are still several small snow packs visible atop the gorgeous Wellsville Mountains. In my mind, the jury is still out on the possibility that global temperatures are rising due to human industrialization. However, I do strongly believe we as human-beings have an obligation to act responsibly with the earth’s natural resources. And I believe there are many easy ways each of us can do our part.
Recycle. Recycling takes effort. It is without question much easier to just throw whatever we no longer want or need into our garbage can and let the county or city magically make it disappear. Recycling usually involves storing and then hauling the recyclable items to locations that accept whatever it is we wish to recycle. Some are fortunate enough to have recycling programs that are offered at their curbside. In our place of business we have different boxes or bins for paper, cardboard, aluminum, and plastic. Once the pile becomes too large to handle, either I or someone else will bag the items and haul them to our homes or to other collection sites. It does involve effort. Since we are throwing it out anyways, we might as well put it into the hands of other industries that have a need for these materials. We can either do something now or we can wait several hundreds of years for aluminum, glass, and plastic to break-down. Other items that we should consider recycling are printer cartridges, glass, used car oil, and “green” waste.
Conserve electricity. This is a major issue around our home with four boys under the age of eleven running. I believe we all understand that electricity is generated by burning coal, natural gas, or by splitting atoms. More and more electricity is becoming available through renewable resources such as hydro-plants, wind farms, and solar plants. So it goes without saying that the more electricity we use the more of our precious natural resources will be spent in its generation and the more pollutants will be released into our atmosphere. Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) use less than a fourth of the electricity needed to power a traditional light bulb. Using Energy Star appliances will also reduce our energy consumption. Purchasing a programmable thermostat makes it easy to heat or cool our homes when we truly need it not when we are usually at work, sleeping, or on vacation. Just think of all the electronic gadgets that you own now that were not even available when you were growing up. These are all plugged in 24/7 and sucking electricity. There are many creative ways we can use less and at the same time lower our bills.
Do not litter. Let’s face it – litter is ugly. I spent two years serving my church as a missionary in northern Germany. Each week we would strive for at least four hours of community service. I spent six months in Bielefeld and we did not always have abundant opportunities to serve in this particular city so we would spend most of our service hours picking up trash around the park, our apartment complex, or the subway station. I would consider Germany and Europe in general as much cleaner than most of the United States; however, we still gathered tons and tons of trash. It beautified our surroundings and we felt good doing it. If each of us threw all of our own trash in the garbage – there would be no litter. This sounds like common sense, but if each of us would only concentrate on ourselves we would see a huge improvement in the natural beauty of our surroundings.
These points are not new. We have all heard them before, but hopefully they will cause you to pause and reflect what you can change in your own world. I don’t know if the polar bear will be extinct in 40 years, or if Miami will be covered in 50 feet of ocean water someday; but I believe there are many things we can do today to respect and live in harmony with this earth we call home.