Libya, The Third War

Tonight President Obama will be trying to decide if we are to intervene in the Libyan war.  It all comes down to humanitarian issues, pretty much domestic violence, and what Obama promised before he was elected President of the United States.

Mind you I didn't vote for Obama and I was a registered Democrat at the time.  Since then I've changed my political party to more suit, though not perfectly, my views.

Do we really need the added expensive of another war?  We aren't even fully out of Iraq, we are full force fighting in Afghanistan and our economy can't handle the drain of helping yet another country find its freedom.  Freedom is far from free when our own populous has to go without because gas prices are sky rocketing in the oil obsessed countries.

They are oil obsessed.  Most of them are fighting over control of their own oil fields.  Their civil unrest is now costing us more at the pump and I'd rather it not start costing us the lives of our American citizens.

I'm not a "liberal hippie" by any means.  I believe that at times war is the necessary decision.  But I don't like the thought that we are going to have to sacrifice more of our military, money, and resources on a doomed humanitarian issue that is called the Libyan war.  Let them fight it out amongst themselves, it went fairly well in Egypt a month ago.  If we go into Libya with guns blazing we'll have to fund a rebuild of their country when we can barely afford to keep our own government afloat.

We don't need foreign oil.  We have the Alaskan pipeline.  We have alternative fuel sources that are being back burnered just because our own government has deals on the table with foreign countries to buy their oil supplies.  How about we fund the alternative fuel projects with the funds that we were going to spend on helping Libya out?

Better yet how about we stop buying from China and buy more American made products.  Sure right now American made products are expensive but isn't buying quality worth it?  Why buy junk from a foreign country when you know its just going to get recalled or fall apart?  Eventually, given that Americans will decide to buy domestic products, our prices will drop and our economy will reach back to the top where it was two decades ago before we started farming out our jobs to foreign countries.

Libya, good luck on your war.  I don't want my country being a part of your domestic violence issues. 

WE ARENT THE WORLD'S POLICE!

Recycling Through Smart Shopping

I have found a great way to recycle.  I like to go antique shopping.  Maybe a few thousand other folks have also come up with the same idea as antique shops are really busy on the weekends.

If you haven't really given a thought to antique shopping or are just afraid of being a bull in a china shop I'll give you a few tips.  First off the better places for a novice to antique shoping are located in what they call malls or in towns where they are lined up quite efficiently.  Do these places really exist or am I full of fluff?  I came from a small rural town in the Northeast part of New York State.  For us antique shopping was the flea market or someone's yard sales.  Over here in Washington they are a tad bit more organized.  All the better I think, though you do pay more for some items since these sellers aren't they yard sale nickel table type.

Leave your bulky winter outerwear in your vehicle.  Unless of course you don't mind being that bull in the china shop and have plenty of money to just give away on broken items.

Leave  your children at home.  This might sound a bit harsh but like the above first tip unless you have plenty of money to just give away on broken items then don't bring them.

Ladies, that large hobo bag you like to call a purse has to be stored away too.  Go in with a slim as possible a purse.  Do you really want to turn about in a small space and break all that Nippon china?  I think not.  Invariably there are always those small, tight spaces that you have to side walk into just to see what hidden treasures awaits.

Antique shopping can be a joy.  Bring your husband, boyfriend, or other male friends when you go shopping.  You might need them to help carry out your large furniture or other heavy purchase to your vehicle.  I drag along my husband.  He immediately seeks out the tools, knives, guns, swords and books.  See there are things that guys would be interested in at those antique malls.  He might have to fain interest in your bone china teacup that you just have to have but he will most likely enjoy the more manly items that await his treasure hunt.  If you guy is into toys, action figures, trains and marbles those are usually also found at the antique malls.

By no means are these places run like Pawn Stars or American Pickers but if you are into that then go sight-seeing and find yourself those pawn shops and old barns to pick through for the day.  Bargaining with the owners over a price on an item can be done at the pawn shops, yard sales and antique malls.  I've seen first hand the antique mall owners call up the sellers of the item and ask if they'd come down, sometimes they do especially in this economy.

I hope that all of you have some joy in this fun part of recycling.  What some once considered junk might just be your treasure.

Blue Green Algae Blooms and Anoxic Waters

photo of China with blue green algae blooms


Okay sure it might look pretty but what is often pretty isn't so good for us.  Blue-green algae blooms lead to the death of oxygen in water.  What?  No, really it does happen and all too often.

I realize that today is Saturday and I was going to save my environmental posts for Sundays but I'm going to be busy tomorrow and thought I'd better do my post now.  So here it is.

First off I'll explain just what Anoxic Waters are. When too much organic materials are dumped into waters they start to decompose and the bacteria that eats through the organic materials uses up the available oxygen in the water.  So is it the fault of the bacteria that is doing its job?  Nope.  We are at fault for the anoxic waters.  Just one example is the farmers that live on the edge of water systems who often dump their excess fertilizers, organic matter like cow poop and pig poop into the waterways.  Overloading the waterways with the organic matter causes the ecosystem to die off.  No more fish, toxic waters, and bad smells are the end result.  More examples are when we have heavy rainfall that cause run off of organic matter like plants into the waterways. Aquaculture operations and sewage discharge from, boats, yachts, and ships are also the culprits.  We can't do much about the excess rainfall but we can do something about how we dispose of our own organic materials.  If you want clean drinking water think before you discharge your organic materials into a water system.

Okay so that is quite simplistic I realize but I'm trying to reach the masses with these postings.

Now for the blue green algae blooms and how they do the same thing and how we can try to help fix the problem.  First off what exactly are blue green algae blooms?  They are cyanobacteria which is a microscopic bacteria that feeds off of photosynthesis.  Basically they need a good light source in order to grow so that is why you find them on top of water.  They are fast growing and block out the sunlight from reaching to the bottom of the water where other plants and creatures would be seeking out sunlight.  Your beloved catfish is going to die off if you don't clean off the bottom of your fishing boat before you go from water system to water system.  Okay so those of you that like to fish need to be more responsible fishermen/women and check out the boat bottom to make sure there aren't any blue-green algae blooms attached to your outboard or inboard motors.  Mutations occur when the native species to your favorite fishing spot don't get the proper environmental fix.  Just like you want your nutrients in the form of your desired food so do the creatures and plants in their natural habitat.

Here is a bit more from two resources on blue green algae blooms:
http://www.cdph.ca.gov/healthinfo/environhealth/water/Pages/bluegreenalgae.aspx
http://www.epi.state.nc.us/epi/oee/bluegreen.html

If you are swimming in waters that have blue green algae blooms, get out of the water and wash off with clean sourced water.  Don't eat the fish from those waters and don't let your pets drink or swim in those waters either.  The water can be toxic.

"What are the possible health effects related to blue-green algae blooms?

Exposure to blue-green algae can cause rashes, skin and eye irritation, allergic reactions, gastrointestinal upset, and other effects.  At high levels, exposure can result in serious illness or death.
Depending on the particular cyanobacterium, and the amount to which one is exposed,  blue-green algae have the potential to cause a variety of adverse health effects, including liver toxicity (e.g., Microcystis aeruginosa) and neurotoxicity (e.g., Anabaena circinalis).  Microcystin toxins may also promote tumor growth.
Destruction of cyanobacteria cells may release the toxins into surrounding waters, so care must be taken in dealing with blue-green algae blooms."  from the California Department of Public Heath webpage.