What Next?

So well yesterday didn't exactly go as planned but I'm learning that my life is going to be much like that when I try to plan something.  I think I'll stop planning things and just let happen what will happen....nope can't do that.

Finally we got the diagnostic done on the SUV.  I love my SUV.  Its old and some day we'll once again have a second vehicle.  Any repairs that need to be done get done.  This one is going to be a bit more costly than say, having a windshield replaced.

The oil is leaking from the Timing Cover.  $825.00 plus tax and 8 hours of labor later we'll get it fixed.  Its not like we can't drive it around with it leaking but I'm environmentally minded.  I don't like the idea of an oil leak and the thought of the damage it could do to the rest of the engine by having to keep watch on the oil level and add more oil as needed is rather annoying to say the least.

The 8 hours to get the job done we all know is going to take more than 8 hours.  When have any of us actually taken our vehicle to a dealership to get worked on and had it done in the allotted amount of time?  I never have.

The  $825.00 is going to hurt.  With another IVF cycle payment due soon its not going to leave us with a lot of money to enjoy our holiday.  But there isn't much we can do about it since it is our only mode of transportation.  Its not like we have a busing system on the installation to get my spouse to and from work.  We need our SUV up and running.  Nor is walking an option as its at least a 4 mile walk to work one way for my husband.

Yup it has to get done.  Now its just to figure out when we can fit it into our schedule.  That is going to be the interesting part.

So we aren't going away for the weekend.  That much is obvious already.  We won't be going any long distances until this gets fixed.

And life goes on.

Wheel Thrown Agate Ware

This post is for all you ladies out there that have ever had to pee in a cup to find the moment of ovulation or tested for pregnancy at home.  Some might find it embarrassing but we all do it.

Yesterday I received a beautiful gift in the mail from my friend and local artist Alex.  She knows that I'm going through a difficult time right now and thought I might like to be cheered up.  I have to say that she is not only beautiful but very talented.

She has similar items to my lovely hand thrown agate ware cup, pictured at left, in her shop online shop called Ugabugabowls. Honestly the photos I take don't do her work justice.  I think I need to purchase a better camera and see about taking some photography classes to improve on picture taking while I'm at it.

Though its hard to see in my photographs the cup is about 2.5 inches tall and 3 inches across at the top opening.  She calls this, for me, a pee cup.  For those of you that do a lot of peeing on sticks you know you need a cup.  Why bother with the disposable cups when you can pee in such a pretty cup?  Besides all those disposable cups aren't good for the environment and I want to go as green as possible.

View of the inside of the cup.  Again this is hand thrown pottery.  Totally unused cup that could also be used as a bathroom cup and not just for the reason why Alex sent it to me.  But I'm going to use it for just that reason because I'm hoping it will be bring me a bit of good luck.

No I'm not superstitious but when a pregnant potter sends you a cup to pee in, so you can use the test sticks to find the right moment or even use it for the home pregnancy test, then I'm going to use it for its intended use.  Wouldn't you just love to purchase a beautiful, reusable, cup to pee in too?  I mean seriously you'd be doing the environment a favor!

Alex makes a lot more than these beautiful cups.  She makes wonderful bowls, mugs, cookie jars, goblets, pet food bowls, and even a mortar and pestle set.  She really is talented.  Why she even has on her site a chicken roaster pan that she made by hand.

Watch here as she makes some hand thrown Agate Ware.

Protecting Our Air And Water Quality

We can do more to protect our air and water quality but most of us are unaware of how to go about doing our share for their protection.  Did you know that in Washington State alone transportation accounts for 47% of the greenhouse gases emitted?  This would be the emissions from our cars, trucks, trains, boats, motorcycles and so on.  Why don't we use mass transit more efficiently?

My husband told me just last night that only about 3% of the population actually uses the mass transit.  Mass transit uses up the majority of the budget for the Department of Transportation.  J explained to me this is why our roads are in such bad condition because of the budget not being proportioned according to the populous usage of the actually modes of transportation.

On our road trips we've noticed how many cars are with just one person in them.  What ever happened to car pooling?  Even here on the Army installation one would think that with so many soldiers leaving at similar times for work a carpool could be started up.  Personally I'd love to have the car to myself for even one day a week to go get groceries with a girlfriend.  I've done it in the past.

If we aren't going to use our mass transit then why have it?  Why pay out the majority of the budget to keep a broken system going when the funds could be used elsewhere?  If we want to improve our air and water quality we need to find cleaner modes of transportation.

Here is my challenge to all of you readers, start using your public transportation more often.  Start a carpool, my dad used one for his one hour commute to his work place for most of the twenty-five years he work at the plant.  If you live close to your work place think about walking or taking a bicycle.  Yes this means exercise.  Nothing wrong with dropping a few pounds of extra weight since two thirds of the American population is now considered to be obese.  Get off your butts and make a difference.

For more information see WSDOT which is the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Conserving Resources At Home

Today's Environmental post is about conserving resources in your own home, specifically the utilities of water, gas and electric.  Recently we received our billing statement from Minol which is our provider here on our installation. I was very pleased to see that if we continue on the path of our conservation habits we will be receiving a rebate soon.

I guess the only thing I'm not really pleased about is that we've been here for two years now with no rebate as of yet.  When we signed for this housing we were told about the program with Minol and how we'd be receiving a statement every two months in the mail showing our usage.  If we were going to get a rebate we'd get a check but if we went over we'd get a bill.  This is our first statement.  I'm annoyed.  I'm conserving the utilities as much as possible. 

Our statement was only a mock up.  I'm wanting my rebate.  It showed that in September we had a credit of $27.38 and would have received a check if they had implemented the program.  October we had a credit of $35.22.  November we had a credit of  $32.49.  December we had a credit of $28.49.  Okay where is my money for doing a good job.  We were told two years ago that anything above a five dollar credit we would receive a check.  So far nothing.  I feel like we are being punished for doing  a good job.  I feel as though they owe us for the $123.58 we've saved the government by not using our maximum allowed in utilities.  But what I feel doesn't matter.  The only thing that does matter is that we are helping save the environment through our conservation of utilities.

There was a letter accompanying the statement saying that the mock billing would continue for another two months.  Well that means another two months without us receiving a rebate but my payment is knowing that we are still doing our part to help out our community and our environment by conserving with our utilities.

Utility conservation is quite easy.  Here are some easy things you can do to conserve energy in your housing unit.
1) Turn off the lights as you leave the room.  Turn off the lights in the rooms you aren't using too.

2) If you don't have to do your laundry in the day time switch it out to the night time and you'll save on the cost.

3) Take shorter showers.  Or take a shower with your spouse.  More fun.

4) Unplug all appliance that aren't being used.

5) Use power strips with surge protectors and kill switches on them.

6) Limit the time spent on your computer daily.  The computer does draw quite a bit of energy.

7) Switch to the new energy saving light bulbs.

8)  Replace worn out appliances with energy saving appliances.

9)  Make sure your housing unit is kept in good condition with no drafty windows or doors.

10) Turn your thermostat down to no more than 65 F.  We keep ours at 60-62F at night and 64F during the day.  Warm, dry air is the cause of more colds and sinus infection than you think.  Lower the temperature and turn on a cool mist humidifier. 

11) Turn down the thermostat on your hot water heater.  It shouldn't be at more than 110 F. Higher temperatures than 120 F can cause skin burns.

12) Before running the dishwasher turn on the hot water at the sink to let it run for a minute to make sure the hot water is flowing to the dishwasher.  Make sure the dishwasher is actually full before running it and try to set it on the energy saving wash.

13) Keep your refrigerator at about 3/4 full.  If you are running low on grocery items fill bottles or jugs up with water and put them in the refrigerator as it will help prevent the compressor from running too often.

14) When using the oven, don't just use it for warming up or cooking one small dish, use it more efficiently and bake more than one small item.  Ie: not just one potato but say four to six potatoes at a time at least.  You can always freeze the food you don't intend on eating right now and warm it up in the microwave which takes less energy.

Well those are my suggestions.  As some of you are receiving your statements in the mail this week I hope you realize that you can conserve energy whether you have children or not.  Every little bit we save helps our environment.

Go outside and take a walk rather than sit in front of the television or computer today.

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.

Tearing Down The Tree

The un-decorating of the Winter Season has begun, well at least at my house.  We don't have a real tree.  I'm not sure why we've never bought a live tree that has been cut down.  Are we too ashamed of what it does to the environment?  I'm not sure.  The one year I did have a live tree it was a small potted pine that I purchased because I was living in the hotel for five months and it was over the holiday season.  But I gave the little tree away in the hopes that someone would be able to plant it and it would grow.

The above photo is what often happens to cut Christmas trees.  Sure some of us could burn them in our backyards but then we'd have to get burning permits.  I recently found out that wood smoke is really bad for the humans.  All those chemicals we've let leach into the ground with our carelessness have been absorbed by the trees we now are burning for our fuel in the winter.  I developed asthma symptoms as a child and was diagnosed as an adult.  My parents had a wood stove installed in their house when I was eight years old.  I wonder if that was the cause of my lung problems.  I love the smell of burning wood and I love camp fires but I think I love to breathe a bit more so I doubt I'll ever be having a wood burning fuel source in my home.  Read this article Burning Issues, which is about the hazards of wood burning.

The last of our decorations are now down as of a few minutes ago.  The boxes are taped shut and will again be stored until needed at the end of the year.  We have a four foot artificial tree.  I didn't pay much for it but it suits its purpose as our house is small.  Enlisted Army housing is always small.  I've seen some families packed in like sardines in a can.  But all is good as long as there are rules.  Now I'm getting away from my post again.

I'd like to know what my readers have for trees, that is if you have a tree at all for Winter holidays.  Do you go with a live tree, and if so do you feel guilt at having contributed to the decline of our oxygen supply, or do you feel no guilt at all?  If you have an artificial tree do you feel guilt at the chemicals used in creating your fake tree and the fumes that were expelled into the environment to create the fake tree, or is there no guilt factor at all? 

Yes I know with either option there is no winning.  Maybe we could all opt to just decorate a live potted tree and later plant it in the spring of the year when the soil is ready.

I used recycled paper in the making of my paper chains and snowflakes again this year.  Easy to tear down decorations and easy to recycle again.  All of the paper decorations are now in the recycling bin.  Still I feel some guilt as again some machinery will have to fire up causing more toxins to be expelled into the environment just to make that paper I used into a pulp fiber to be used once again. 

I'm beginning to believe that there is no guilt-free Winter holiday season.  I doubt its even possible.  Think of all the paper wrappings used and wasted.  The bows, boxes, packing materials and not to forget the gas used in getting the gifts to their destinations from the point of purchase.  Why do we do it?  Is it the guilt of not giving or is it blind love with no concern to the environment?

I just read aloud the above to my spouse and he answered back, "its tradition and you can't argue with tradition as its insensitive."  So said the guy with the B.S. in Environmental Science.

However, if you are feeling any guilt about your "traditions" then possibly you should visit the Arbor Day Foundation.   Or check out your National Parks Service.  Make a donation to them or find out how you can give back.